


The Swordmaker

by stephensmat



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: (Character Death Warning Because We Cover The Movie Too), Coming of Age, Gen, Life in Shatterdome, Mako's Life Story, Novelization, Prequel, Tragedy, Training, world ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-11 17:31:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 129,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11719128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephensmat/pseuds/stephensmat
Summary: Her father taught her that forging a sword took work. Smelting away the impurities was a key part. If the metal had impurities, the sword was weak. Jaeger Pilots were the Sword of Humanity, and she owed it to her family to keep the blade strong. And when she grew up, she would be stronger still. She was the sword. She was the swordmaker. These are key moments of Mako's life.





	1. Tokyo Girl

**Author's Note:**

> One of the more ambitious work's I've done. I felt that Pacific Rim had Raleigh as the central character, but it's more Mako's story than anyone else.
> 
> This fic will cover Mako from age ten, until after the film. I have no idea how it will fit with the sequel, still in production, but I hope that it makes sense on it's own.

Japan understood the point of sea monsters. Mako's earliest memory was her father reading to her from a book of old Oriental fairy tales and sea poems.

_"Massively you dwell, O dragon of the Triple World. I_ _n the great iron cage of the sea. But when the dead mists of the half-eaten moon stir the waters and open your cage. You rise in effulgent glory. A great flash of livingness, eye and wind, tongue, and water. To swallow the wayward sailor's floating world. Spare our ship O dragon, remain embedded in stone. Humbly we speak your name,_ _Gojira."_

The Americans had taken their sea monsters for movies and entertainment. The Kaiju had gone there first. Mako had always thought that was a pretty vicious little irony. Make light of the monsters, and they will eat you.

She found it considerably less ironic when the attacks continued.

* * *

Mako was twelve years old when she met Stacker Pentecost. It was the best part of the worst day of her life.

Pentecost had stepped down from the Jaeger. In the MK-1 Series, it was possible to do that. Nobody was quite sure how to be an expert in this kind of combat yet. He stayed with Mako until the helicopters came, and then sat her on the edge of the dumpster she'd hidden behind. The battle had spread out across a good third of the city, and Mako had a good view of him attaching the helicopter's grapnels to the Jaeger at various points.

Once the helicopters had managed to lift what was left of the war machine, and the Medivac choppers had taken his co-pilot away for treatment, Pentecost returned to the little orphan girl. Even then, she could tell he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be with his copilot.

She was not offended. She was grateful. Her father had believed in the old ways, of ancestral spirits and reincarnated souls. It was said by those that followed such beliefs that Jaeger Pilots had all found their Soul Mates. Not their true love, or anything so simple and tawdry as romance. A True Soul Mate was someone who's soul was tied to another's through dozens, even hundreds of generations, finding each other all over again in each new incarnation, to the point where the Universe demanded they be together unto eternity. If his was wounded, it would have been a supreme act to leave her side, for the sake of a little girl that could have been handed off to anyone else.

With the press, and the Medics, and the military, and the Shatterdome all demanding his attention, Stacker Pentecost came back to Mako first.

"I want to see it." She demanded. It was the first thing she had said to him.

"Do you know where the shelter is?"

"Not my family." Mako said tightly. "I know they're gone. I want to see it."

Pentecost hesitated for a moment, before he held out a hand and she took it, her tiny fingers threading through his. It was a long walk for them, through wrecked streets. Jaegers moved fast, and Kaiju moved faster; the battle that had saved her life had crushed plenty of buildings, including the shelter her family was in at the time.

But eventually, they got there.

* * *

War often had immortal moments.

That year, the famous photo was of a little girl, With one red shoe dangling from her left hand, her right holding the hand of a Jaeger pilot, as both of them looked out at the body of a massive Kaiju beast.

After Pentecost had taken her to the Shelter... what was left of it, she had curled up in a ball in his lap and sobbed. It wasn't just because of her family. It was because she knew he wasn't staying.

The other survivors were glad to meet him of course. His partner had returned to the Dome to receive medical attention and make her report, but Pentecost had stayed with Mako, personally taking her to the shelter, then the refugee centre.

He had carried her on his hip the entire time. She still hadn't put her shoes back on.

The other kids knew to give her plenty of room. The Press had somehow got hold of the Gun Camera footage. The whole country had seen little Mako Mori running down an empty street, with a Class Two Kaiju giving chase. There had been rumors that the Kaiju had been given specific instructions, searching for specific people. Those that believed such things were terrified of this five year old orphan. If the Kaiju had taken an interest in her for some reason...

Mako didn't care. She avoided the other kids too.

* * *

The Press had come for her, to do interviews. Mako was not agreeable.

"Do you have anything to say to the people at the Shatterdome?" The last interview tried to round it out with a heartwarming moment of gratitude from the little girl to the hero that had saved her.

Mako looked into the camera. "Tell him I'm still here." She said to the whole world, though it was a message meant for one man in particular. "I don't need anyone to look after me. I just need to be where the Jaegers are."

The woman interviewing her should have taken the hint, but was still trying to make this a softer human interest story. "Well, we all feel better when they're around."

"The Kaiju killed my family." Mako glared severely into the camera, the hardest a twelve year old girl could ever be. "And I'm going to kill every single one of them."

The woman interviewing her tried to laugh it off, make it lighter. "A future Jaeger pilot in the making, right here..."

Mako glared. "I  _am_  a Jaeger pilot." She declared. "It's not my fault nobody made a Jaeger my size."

They had played that clip over and over for almost a week. In that time, some of the orphans were placed into foster care, but not Mako.

* * *

A week after that, she had a visitor. A woman with red hair, a body in her thirties, a face in her fifties, and eyes in their eighties. "You must be Mako Mori."

Mako looked up at her. "Who are you?"

"You can call me Tasmin." The woman said, sitting down heavily on Mako's cot. "You wouldn't recognize me, but we've actually met before. I was Stacker's co-pilot. I'm half the reason you're still alive."

Mako knew she should have said 'thank you', but she and the grown woman were locked in a staring contest, as though they were weighing each other up.

"I saw the interview." Tasmin commented. "Stacker says that you're in pain, but you'll grow out of it." She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket and lit one up. "I don't think you will."

"Promise you and him will save some Kaiju for me?" Mako commented.

Tasmin found that hilarious and laughed around her cigarette. Then her nose started bleeding. She noticed the flow and scowled.

Mako noticed too. After Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fukishima, and then the Kaiju, every kid in Japan knew how to spot certain signs. "Radi-shun?" Mako asked in worry, tripping over the complicated word.

Tasmin nodded. "Yup. That's where Stacker's been all week. He never forgot you, kid. But I think he's trying to decide if you'd be safer with anyone else."

"The Kaiju killed my family!" Mako protested.

Tasmin was not sympathetic. "Hey! I got news for you, kid: Every Jaeger pilot alive has lost someone. Including Stacker. His sister was one of the first Jaeger pilots around. He lost her." She gestured at her face. "And he just recently found out he's lost me, too. If you knew anything about what it's like; you'd know that losing me is gonna hurt him worse than his sister did. The whole godforsaken world's an orphanage. You don't get to jump the queue just because you're angry." She reached out and tapped Mako on the nose, hard. "And if you want to be a Jaeger pilot, the one thing you can't be is emotional. Stacker? His anger is cold. It makes him  _strong_. Understand?"

Mako was about to scream, when Tasmin clapped a hand over her mouth. "If you want to control something like a Jaeger, the first thing you've gotta learn is to control  _yourself_. Start with your mind. Your mind trains the heart. Your heart trains your body. You wanna be a Pilot, you need all three. Understand?"

It was the first lesson Mako had ever got in how to be a Jaeger Pilot, and she nodded; learning. "Like Samurai?"

"Big-Ass Steel Samurai, that's us. The Jaegers aren't the sword of the Human Race. The pilots are." Tasmin suddenly seemed exhausted. "Move over."

Mako did so, and Tasmin stretched out on the cot, sitting upright against the wall. "You haven't even unpacked your stuff."

"I've been... waiting." Mako excused.

Tasmin nodded. "He'll be here soon." She slid up her sleeve a bit, revealing a Medic Bracelet. "Just as soon as he figures out that I left the hospital, he'll do a scan for my bracelet and find where I snuck out to. He'll be here."

"And then... we'll go?" Mako said hopefully.

Tasmin sighed. "We will... apprentice."

* * *

Mako's official designation was 'civilian assistant'. It was the only way to get her out of the Orphanage.

Mako was welcomed by most in the Shatterdome. More than she thought she would. The Jaeger Program was on call, around the clock. The teams all had living quarters on the base, and only some of them were military. Everyone else had to make their lives work in the Dome. Everyone from the Biology Lab to the Kitchen Staff. They had daycare centres, they had schools, they had gyms and PX's.

Stacker was promoted out of the front lines, but nobody told Mako why. Tasmin was too, and they shared Mako for a month. Every meeting, a young Mako Mori would march along behind the pilots of Coyote Tango with a clipboard in one hand.

Stacker and Tasmin were part of the training for new pilots. Mako got to sit in on a lot of lessons. The adults all assumed the child would be bored out of her skull, but Mako was pleased. She was the first person to start her lessons at the age of twelve. As far as she was concerned, she'd be ready for combat a lot sooner.

Pentecost had tried to talk her out of it. He took care of the girl, making sure she ate, making sure she had fresh clothes, and was keeping up with her homework from the regular classes. He had taken the job of her father, but never tried to replace him. Mako was glad for that. Pentecost reminded her of her father. He was gentle with her, and hard with everything else.

Pentecost took care of the girl. Tasmin forged the sword.

Tasmin was not maternal in any way. She was a drill Sargent. She would take Mako to the gym, to the Dojo, to the Laboratory. She would make Mako run faster than any student in her school at the athletics try-outs. She would make Mako recite facts about Kaiju physiology. There would be pop quizzes at dinner, during bathroom breaks, during recess. On nights that she stayed with Pentecost, he read her bedtime stories. When she stayed with Tasmin, she recited Jaeger Ordinance.

The Dojo was Mako's favorite part. Her father had taught her about Kendo weapons, and even gifted her with a Hanbo Staff. He had told her that when she was older, he would teach her to use it.

Tasmin had no trouble teaching her now.

She was never overly harsh, and often tossed a sudden joke into the training, and every dojo match ended with a long hug. But she held Mako to the same standard as the adult recruits. Mako knew why she was doing it. Pentecost wanted her to let go of her anger toward the Kaiju; and Tasmin wanted to break her. Pentecost was trying to turn her back into a normal pre-teen, and Tasmin was trying to make her early training so hard she'd give up.

Neither of them succeeded, but they made her strong, and reminded her that she was loved at every opportunity.

The other pilots regarded Mako like a team mascot. Until their first debrief with Tasmin. Then they were terrified of her.

* * *

Tasmin slouched at the podium, reading through the manifests. Almost two dozen pilots were assembled in the briefing room, and Miss Mori stood at the front of the room, at sharp attention.

"All right folks." Tasmin called the room to attention. "The moment you're all waiting for: The Simulator Scores!"

The whole room catcalled and cheered. There were five teams for every Jaeger being built. The scorecard was the ultimate prize. The top ten got a Jaeger to pilot.

Tasmin hit a button on the podium, and the viewscreen lit up brightly with the teams score, ranked highest to lowest. There was a bright yellow line... separating the top nine, instead of the top ten.

"Now then..." Tasmin commented, slightly sharklike. "I was planning on making this morning's lecture quick. Put up the scores, and then show you some really gruesome shots of Boneslums popping up; and tell you why this is actually a bad thing. But it turns out, we don't need the theory." She gestured grandly at the screen. "One of our blessed top ten failed to hold the simulated Miracle Mile." Tasmin gestured to Mako without looking. "Who was this profound letdown, sweetie?"

Mako was still standing ramrod straight, stonefaced. "Captains Paul and Greg Koffey."

Sure enough, the Captains Koffey were on the list in tenth place. And for the first time, being in the Top Ten wasn't enough to qualify.

"Captain Koffey, front and centre!" Tasmin ordered, and both men stood up. "Care to explain your screwup? Were you distracted by something? Off chasing rabbits?"

"Due Respect, Ma'am; we killed the target, with minimal loss to the simulation." Koffey reported. "We were well within acceptable losses."

Tasmin was not nodding. "You're pleading your case to the wrong person." She said simply, pointing. "The one that bounced you out of the Winner's Circle is right there."

Everyone suddenly shut up in a hurry. If Tasmin was telling the truth, it meant that someone else was deciding their score. And she was pointing at Mako Mori.

Koffey was still facing Tasmin. "Ma'am, there's a hardline for acceptable damage on the simulator. Less than five percent damage is still an automatic passing grade."

Tasmin raised her voice to include Mako. "Miss Mori, that's how the simulator rates them. What's the real number?" She asked. "What is 'acceptable loss'?"

"Zero, ma'am." Mako answered promptly.

"Five percent of a city is code for thousands of people!" Tasmin barked. "I don't know what pencil-necked, pencil-pushing, bean-counting, bureaucratic bastard wrote that into the simulator code, but they're idiots. Apprentice: Educate the Captain."

Mako held up her tablet, which was replaying a CGI fight between a Jaeger and a Kaiju. "You went out too far. The Kaiju was fast enough to go around you."

Koffey was glaring at her tablet. "That's not the simulator."

"Nope." Mako nodded. "But if you can't beat my score, you're not getting a four billion dollar Jaeger." Her glare didn't lighten. "You left your post at the Miracle Mile. You took the bait, and the Kaiju laughed at you." Mako sounded as if she was personally insulted. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Koffey looked at Tasmin, as though expecting to be let in on the joke. Tasmin gave him nothing. Koffey looked back to Mako, who glared at him harder.

"I await an answer." The girl growled and the room murmured.

Koffey wasn't laughing. "Look, sweetie... Fighting in a Jaegers ain't like playing a video game."

"Really?" Mako was not forgiving. "Because the Simulator is supposed to be a 3D model that simulated Kaiju combat." She held up her tablet again. "If I can beat my videogame and you can't, I'm happy to switch." To make the point, Mako tossed her tablet at him.

The room was filled with barely restrained giggles. The Koffey brothers were as smug as any combat pilots, and now they were getting a sharp dressing down from a kid in knee-high socks. The younger of the team was smart enough not to pick a fight with the kid. Tasmin was the one making the choice, she was just having fun about it.

The elder of the team was not so insightful. "I'm not about to justify myself to to a little girl, even if the Marshall has a soft spot for her." He raged. "Comparing the combat sim to a free smartphone app is a joke."

Mako sighed. "I know. That's why I added a few points to your score. I was as forgiving as I could be."

That was the breaking point. Everyone else in the room burst into hysterical laughter.

Mako turned on her heel and marched back to her post beside the podium.

Her father taught her that forging a sword took work. Smelting away the impurities was an important part. If the metal had impurities, the sword was weak. Tasmin had told her that the Jaeger Pilots were the Sword of the Human Race, and she owed it to her family to keep the blade strong. When she grew up, she would be stronger still.

She was the sword. She was the swordsman. She was the swordmaker.

"Top Nine Qualify." Tasmin declared. "We're not here to kill Kaiju, we're here to hold the line; and the top nine were the only ones to do that. That's the line where  _people_  are." She jerked a thumb at Mako. "Anyone who can't see the difference? You can take it up with the girl who's only here because we  _failed_  to kill a Kaiju  **before**  it hit the Miracle Mile."

That one hit a little close to home, and two dozen Jaeger Pilots glanced uncomfortably at the young orphan.

Mako Mori stared them all down, hard as a Steel Samurai should be.


	2. Category II

When Mako Mori was fourteen, she met Hannibal Chau for the first time.

The Sensei had taken her to a growing Boneslum in Tokyo City. And there, among the skeletal remains of Onibaba, the first Kaiju to hit Japan, and the same beastie to kill her family, was a thriving Shantytown, which had grown almost as tall as most of the buildings left standing on the Tokyo skyline.

Mako was actually intrigued when they came in on the helicopter. She'd never seen a Boneslum before. Then she recognized the shape of the skull and hated it unconditionally. But the Sensei was going there, and she never even thought of arguing.

Production lines, apartments, marketplaces, all of it was fully functional. Mako noted people carving out chunks of bone during construction. The foot traffic was as intense as anywhere else in the area, and the skeletal skyline was criss-crossed with rope-lines and rope-bridges, so there was always people moving.

Mako didn't know whether to laugh or not. People were hanging their laundry out to dry from Kaiju bones.

Pentecost had taken her to a restaurant set up at the base of the skull. Only a dozen tables, and a serving window out front. Most people took their food to go. The rear wall was solid ivory, with shelves and seats carved into the Kaiju Bone; and the front walls and entrance all made of slapped together wood and canvas.

But the food tasted much like any other Chinese restaurant. Pentecost got them a table, and the two of them had dinner together. Mako preferred it this way. In the Mess Hall, there were always another hundred people crammed in with them.

"What do you think, daughter?" He asked her in Japanese.

Mako considered her answer, and her nose wrinkled. "Smells bad."

Pentecost nodded his agreement, and the cook shouted something angrily at him in Mandarin. Stacker shouted back, and the cook flipped him off.

Mako's opinion about the smell of the place wasn't an insult toward the eatery, it was a fact of the whole Boneslum. Everything there stank of ammonia, and something vaguely acidic that didn't match anything found on earth.

"I was here a month ago." Stacker told her. "The smell is fading, slowly. If you have to live here, it eventually becomes something you don't notice."

Mako shivered. "If you hadn't come and got me, I'd be living in a place like this by now."

Pentecost didn't say anything to that, but he knew she was right. He changed the subject as quickly as he could. "How are your studies going?"

She pushed her Tablet over to him, showing her work. She had been apprenticing with the Engineering Department for a few weeks, learning all she could about the Jaegers.

Pentecost had never told her, but part of him hoped that she would be satisfied with  _building_  the huge War Machines. Most of him knew she wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than combat.

She showed him her sketches. They were more like schematics than a kid's crayon drawings. Pentecost ached for her sometimes. Mako never had a childhood. She was a baby, and then she was a soldier.

And then he noticed she had done other sketches, and flipped through them. Drawings of the Base, drawings of the pilots...

Drawings of the Kaiju. Over a dozen of them. Yet oddly, none of them were of Onibaba

He noticed some doodles in the margins, of the Jaeger Coat of Arms.

Every Jaeger had it's own Icon. A symbol that was carried by the flight crew, support staff, and the pilots. Every Jaeger wore their own colors.

Gipsy Danger was just being constructed, and Pentecost had signed off on its Coat of Arms almost a week before. Mako had drawn it flawlessly. He held up the tablet. "Did you design this?"

Mako nodded, looking at her bowl.

"I didn't see your name on the design."

Mako shrugged.

Pentecost hid his smile. She hadn't taken the credit, because she knew that if he didn't know, he couldn't show favoritism.

They ate for a while talking about their work. Even at her age, Mako had been part of every department in the Shatterdome. In a lot of ways, she was his eyes in the Lower Decks. She kept him aware of what the people were serving in the Mess Hall, and what was wanted; improving morale. She told him what the Maintenance Crews were running out of so that he could have it waiting before the requisitions came across the usual channels. She told him when the Janitorial Staff found empty saké bottles in the garbage, so that he knew which of the Jaeger Pilots had started to drink on the job...

And she'd done it all with a big smile, so nobody knew it was her.

Pentecost looked up and suddenly focused on someone walking past outside. "Doctor Geiszler?"

Newt Geiszler was walking past, and froze, caught unawares. "Marshal. Um... hello."

"I was unaware that you frequented Boneslums." Pentecost said flatly. His tone was neutral, but Pentecost was never exactly happy to hear anything.

Mako didn't know either, but she wasn't surprised. Geiszler was fascinated with the Kaiju. Most people were, but Newt Geiszler was more... awestruck than others. He kept his sleeves down, but Mako knew he had tattoos stretching over his shoulders. Every Kaiju that made landfall.

Including the one that killed her family.

Despite that, she liked the new recruit. He'd only been with Pentecost's Team a few weeks, but already he was taking the science teams in directions they hadn't explored before. He was showing them Kaiju tolerances to heat, cold, energy... New Weapons were being designed based on his discoveries.

And more than that, he was changing the parameters of the Pons. Drift Compatibility was expanding to more and more recruits.

Mako liked him, but she knew a Kaiju groupie when she saw one. He would take his... awe for them too far one day.

Geiszler was stammering, trying to justify his presence in the Boneslum. "I was... Um, I was here to meet a man about a dog."

"A dog?" Pentecost repeated.

Geiszler smiled like it made perfect sense. "Yeah. I was thinking that the Shatterdome really needed a Mascot."

"You have me." Mako piped up.

Pentecost almost smiled at that. Almost. Just then, his Phone beeped, and he checked the screen. His face changed instantly, going dark. "Doctor, I need you to take Mako back to the Dome. A matter has arisen."

"Breach?" Mako and Geiszler both said in the same instant. She was worried, he was excited.

"No. Not a Breach." Pentecost told them. "I... have a meeting."

Mako blinked. "Here? Why not the Dome?"

"It's not that kind of meeting." Pentecost told his daughter.

Geiszler was even more excited. "Ooh, confidential? Who? Spy? Black Market? Secret Mistress?"

Pentecost glared and Geiszler grew noticeably smaller. He cleared his throat and followed orders. "Come along, Miss Mori."

"I can help." Mako told Pentecost.

"I know." He told her gently. "Sorry to cut Lunch short."

Mako nodded, and fell into step as Geiszler led her out.

Geiszler kept talking. In fact, he never stopped. It drove his fellow Science Team insane, but Mako didn't care. She let him talk. Tasmin had taught her that people who talked too much gave up all kinds of interesting information.

"So, wonder what that was all about?" Geiszler said without pausing to see if she had anything to add. "It wasn't planned, or he wouldn't have brought you along, but it can't be official, or he wouldn't have had the meeting here, but it can't be salacious because he wouldn't have had it be public; so it must be something clandestine. That is so awesome!"

Mako was calculating. Tasmin had taught her about Classified Material. The Sensei had taught her when to choose her battles. He had taught her that trust and time were weapons too, and they had to be saved for when they would do the most good.

But Mako couldn't help herself. She wanted to know what the meeting was about. Now she just had to get away from Geiszler... Who was still yapping.

"...don't knock the Kaiju meat; you'd think it'd taste like something awful, but really it's more salty. You get the surface skin, and it's downright deadly, but the blubber is ordinary animal fat. No good for you, but try eating a hot dog, Mako; you'd swear the silicon's thicker in there-"

Sensei had taught her about the importance of Strengths and Weaknesses. Using your strengths against the enemies weaknesses was always the most effective strategy.

"So, what have you got here?" Geiszler scooped her Tablet up out of her backpack without even slowing down. "Ooh. Nice sketch. You draw these? This is awesome. Oh look, you've got the dorsal fins! Most people who draw Kaiceph only have the ventral fins. This is cool!"

"Hey look!" Mako called, pointing down the far side of the nearest enormous Rib Bone as if she'd just noticed. "There's a tattoo parlor here."

Geiszler hesitated. The look on his face was blatant longing. He looked from the sketch on her tablet, to the tattoo parlor, back to the tablet.

"If you want to get another tattoo, go ahead." Mako said brightly. "Nobody's expecting me back for a while... And I know you came here looking to get another Kaiju tattoo."

Geiszler was sorely tempted. "The Marshall told me to take you home."

"I won't tell him." Mako promised. "If you test me for Drift Compatibility."

Geiszler was stunned. "Kid, are you serious?"

"I'll keep your secret, you keep mine." Mako offered, and put on the best 'enthusiastic-little-girl' smile she could. "Pleeeease?"

Geiszler shook his head. "No, I shouldn't do that." He said. "But I really wanna, so I probably will. Come on."

She fell into step with him again, heading to the tattoo parlor.

* * *

It was actually fairly interesting. There were all sorts of icons and decals and designs on the walls. Like most things in the Boneslum, it was dedicated to the Kaiju and the Jaegers. Every Kaiju ever spotted was drawn on the walls, in every conceivable pose.

Geiszler went to the artist and held up her tablet, with the drawing he'd noticed on display. "Can you put that on me?"

The artist just stared at her.

"The man wants you to put one of my drawings onto his back." Mako translated sweetly for Geiszler. "Take your time, do it right, and he will pay you big money. He's very rich."

The artist found this to be good, and smiled big at Geiszler, who returned the smile, as he was unceremoniously shoved face-down over a table.

He wouldn't be getting back upright for a while, and Mako quietly slipped out.

* * *

The restaurant had been cleared out. Pentecost was still calmly finishing his meal. The cook was gone, as were the other customers. Just Pentecost... and two guards flanking his guest.

Mako peeked around the door, studying his guest. The man was shorter than Pentecost, but a lot broader in the shoulders. His jaw was pure iron, and his short cropped hair was salt and pepper grey. His clothing was way too colorful to be taken seriously. He was handcuffed to the chair he was sitting in... and he looked like he'd been through a hell of a fight.

The man was talking, and if the fact that he was a prisoner bothered him, it didn't show. "...fair trade. Those fields needed fertilizing. You don't want people to starve, any more than I wanna waste a perfectly good profit margin."

"Free enterprise is fine, but your people put seven guards in the hospital." Pentecost was saying. "And those guards were my people."

"Those guards fired first, or so I heard. And who says that they were my people?" His guest commented. "I myself have no knowledge of such activities."

"Well, hypothetically..." Pentecost shot back with biting sarcasm. "...if they did fire first, that's their right. Looting is a capital offense in any time of war."

"Looting the wounded or the dead, sure." The other man said. "Looting the enemy doesn't count. Spoils of war, and all that."

Pentecost was about to comment, when he suddenly noticed Mako peeking around the door and paled.

The other man noticed the Marshal's scrutiny, and looked over his shoulder. "Ohh... I know you."

Caught, Mako stepped into view. "You do?"

"I do." The colorfully dressed man said with a crocodile smile. "I have a copy of that Newsweek article. Remember, 'Tokyo Girl'?"

Mako's face hardened. "I remember."

"Have a seat, sweetie; let me introduce myself. I'm Hannibal Chau." He gave her a slight bow, even with his hands cuffed behind his back. "And I am  _very_  pleased to meet you."

Mako came over and sat down at the table between them. Pentecost almost looked scared.

"Look, Marshall, we both know that if you lock me away, ten more guys would be taking my place the next day." Chau said coolly, never taking his eyes off Mako. "And at least a few of them would have worked for me at one time or another. And they'd know why I was in jail."

Pentecost said nothing. His eyes were flicking back and forth between Mako and Hannibal Chau.

"Isn't it better if such a business was under the control of a great humanitarian?" Hannibal said with a grin. "I don't gouge. I don't break thumbs. Much." He leaned back in his chair. "The next guy won't be so good, and you know it. Sometimes, I sell stuff on credit; simply because they can't afford it until they get my supplies." If he wasn't handcuffed, he'd be spreading his arms wide. "And if you did push it, I'd have a hundred guys waiting to testify that I was across town helping little old ladies across the street when I was supposedly near the Boneslum looting. Help the innocent, that's my motto." He was grinning at Mako.

Pentecost said nothing.

"That's what you're in the business of, isn't it? Protecting the innocent?" Chau was grinning like a shark, and Mako suddenly realized she should be worried, though she didn't know why.

Pentecost leaned forward. "Look. I don't have a problem with seventy percent of the stuff you do. That other thirty percent? It's getting people hurt."

"Well I'm a businessman, Marshal; flexibility is the name of the game." Chau leaned forward. "Make me an offer."

"We have an interest in how you manage to get your specimens alive." Pentecost observed. "No other science team, government of private, has been able to achieve that."

"If you knew how? Would you share that information?" Chau pointed out. "Of course, we don't have to tell you how we do it, just as long as we keep you in what you need."

Pentecost considered that. "We'd need a pretty good supply. If I'm going to sell my superiors on that, they'd also need some pretty significant altruism on your part. For example, Kaiju white cells can make an irradiated field grow healthy again. Kaiju dung can make it grow unthinkably high yields. You're already selling to small home gardens, so a bulk order shouldn't be hard. I figure it'd take about thirty percent of your usual collection-"

"Ten." Chau countered instantly.

"Thirty, and I let you leave with all your teeth." Pentecost shot back.

"Twenty five and I won't go looking for this young lady." Chau countered, jerking his head in Mako's direction.

"Thirty, and I won't cut off your head, stick it on a pike, mount it on this table, and have your second in command dragged in here to get offered the same deal you turned down." His gaze was pure iron. "This isn't a negotiation between equals."

If Hannibal was intimidated, it didn't show. "Thirty it is. I think we can officially call it a done deal."

"There's nothing official about this." Pentecost warned. "The regular clean up crews won't be told to give you dibs, and they won't be moving slower because of this."

"Don't worry, we'll be as ghosts in this." Hannibal promised. "Plus, look on the bright side. Eventually, the Kaiju will take out another city or three, and those Cleanup Crews will be busy enough that my guys can take their time."

"Over our dead bodies." Mako put in.

"That's sort of the point, my dear." Hannibal grinned. "Stacker, if you take these cuffs off, I'd be willing to shake on it."

Stacker signaled the guards, who stepped forward and released the prisoner. He slipped a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and made his goodbyes.

It was a long time before Mako looked back on that day and realized that she was being threatened by Hannibal Chau.

* * *

"Why did you not throw him in jail?" Mako asked quietly.

"You think I should have?"

Mako hesitated. "I would."

Pentecost met the girl's hard eyes. There was no hint of mercy there. Her anger had never cooled. Tasmin's warning to turn her rage to her advantage was something she had taken to heart. Mako's anger had turned cold and deadly. It made her driven. It made her smart. And worst of all, it made her patient.

"Mako..." He said softly. "Come with me."

* * *

He took her to the lower levels of the Boneslum. It was like a lot of places in Asia. Once the Kaiju were done with it, most people were living with little more than the clothes on their back. Living in slapped together tents and shacks were nothing unusual, but in a Boneslum, the apartments were divided by the spaces between the Kaiju toes and fingers, or the spaces between the vertebrae.

The arm bones had stairs carved into them, and Pentecost led her up. The solid bone beneath their feet was as solid a foundation as any concrete. The thoroughfare had open markets and rickshaw stalls. People were grilling slabs of meat on home-made grills; but Mako couldn't guess if they were trying to sell Kaiju meat.

Pentecost led her deeper in; toward the Kaiju elbow. The complex network of bones still had tendons strung along it, used to hold up tarps and sunshades.

"Why are we here?" Mako asked, and her nose wrinkled again. The whole place stunk of Kaiju blood. She saw people who were warped in face and hobbled in body from ingesting the Kaiju Blue.

Pentecost pointed at them. "Now. That's the downside of living in a Boneslum. What's the upside?"

Mako took it like one of her lessons about Kaiju. "Housing. The Boneslum is cheap, and most of these people have nothing."

"What else?"

Mako struggled to think. "Well, black mart."

"Black Market." Stacker corrected automatically. "Tell me something, Mako: Why do you think we cannot just arrest them all? Or for that matter, why don't we break up the Boneslums? It's illegal to loot Kaiju bodies, so why not to build towns?"

Mako shrugged. "We got more important things to squish."

Stacker actually laughed. "Not wrong, but there's another reason. That reason is that in a lot of ways, it's the only option."

Mako said nothing. She didn't understand what he meant, so she didn't bother guessing.

Stacker pointed out various aspects of the Boneslum. "There's very little shipping left in the Pacific. Before you were born, they had ships the size of a Kaiju taking goods back and forth between countries. But after the third Attack, nobody was willing to insure the goods, and thus began the shortages." He looked at her pointedly. "You've never had to live in a world  _without_  food rationing, my dear. Time was you didn't need vouchers to get anything at all. So. Why do you think we don't just put Boneslummers and Black Marketeers in jail?"

Mako looked around the Boneslum with careful scrutiny. She hadn't walked through an Asian City since leaving Tokyo. Almost all the people she could see looked just like her old neighbors.

In fact, now that she thought of it...

Mako shut her eyes. "You don't arrest them, because everyone's here because they've got no other choice."

Stacker didn't blink. "No, that's why they come here. We let them, because we don't have a choice either."

Mako blinked. "Huh?"

Stacker pointed to the rickshaws selling Kaiju products, the vendors grilling Kaiju meat. "Those people have lost their homes and their jobs. Farms can't produce food once we've nuked the Kaiju stomping over it, and we can't build a new Jaeger  _and_  a city every week. You were in The System once. Would you wish that on a whole city full of people?"

Mako said nothing, but she wouldn't.

"Truth is, if they find a place to live and a way to avoid starvation without the UN having to spend a dime, then they don't much mind. And if people are willing to throw money at anything that comes off a Kaiju, then that's support nobody else has to pay. Look around, Mako. Every Yen spent here is another one we don't need to take away from the Dome."

That was an angle Mako could appreciate. She looked around with fresh eyes. Suddenly she didn't hate them any more. They were part of the war effort. They were War Refugees that made money for the War.

Mako found herself smiling. One small forgiveness, one small part of her hate for the Kaiju healed.

Stacker watched her subtly and declared victory. Mako had a lot of anger in her, and if he could turn the things she was angry about into a way to fight Kaiju, she would embrace them wholeheartedly.

"May I ask a question, Sensei?" Mako asked. "Why Chau?"

Stacker considered the question a moment. "Top Secret?"

Mako mimed zipping her mouth. She knew the importance of secrets. She knew that Stacker was going to be running her whole War at some point, and she knew that half the things she overheard in the Mess Hall wouldn't have been whispered if the ones doing the whispering thought she understood them.

Stacker lowered his voice. "There is a man in the Boneslum that I trust. He tells me there are many men and women seeking to make their fortunes. I am... kept informed of which ones are killers, and which ones are not. Which ones are selling lies, and which ones are actually selling things that can help."

"And Hannibal Chau is a good guy?" Mako couldn't believe that.

"Well..." Stacker rolled his head back and forth a bit. "He's the least bad." He thought a moment. "In fact, you might as well come along, since you met Hannibal."

Mako was about to say something, when Pentecost pulled a small torch out of his pocket and shone it. The light was strange, painted over with black. Mako didn't understand, until he shone it around, and found a small mark; which only showed under his black light torch.

Two icons, drawn in invisible ink. A precious stone, and a bird.

"Do you understand?" The Sensei tested her.

Mako looked at it a moment. "A jewel, and a bird. Sapphire Raven." She declared. "One of the MK-I's. I thought they were all wiped out."

"They were." Stacker told her. "But there are maybe four people in the Slum that could find the symbol by accident and know what it means."

* * *

They followed the symbols to the higher level of the Kaiju Skeleton. Usually, the higher you got, the more expensive and sought-after your place was. In the Boneslum, it meant your platform was in the most precarious spot. As the ribs curved, your foundation got weaker. Mako had heard rumors that the most expensive homes built since Trespasser were underground; private luxury homes built deeper than most fallout shelters.

Rope ladders and pulleys were the only way up once you got past the harvest level. Mako could see people with power tools below them, grinding the huge bones into powder for collection, or slicing out large segments in blocks.

The Platform they reached was large, but Mako walked on her toes instinctively. The thing felt like a treehouse. A single room made of wood planks, except this one was crammed together with a dozen others just like it, and rope bridges crossing to the other side, where there were a dozen more. Mako had never been this high before, without being in a helicopter.

Inside, she found it much like the outside. No bed, just a narrow hammock. No furniture, just shelves. The shelves had things from a hundred different sources. The stink of Kaiju was stronger here... and oddly, the floor was open. There were three sections of the floor that just hung over empty air... And the room had a dozen thick ropes hanging from the ceiling.

"Taylor?" Pentecost roared.

One of the ropes grew taut, and Mako jumped. A man climbed up the rope, wearing a harness. Mako made a point not to stare, but it was hard. His legs were missing, and his neck and face were scarred badly. He was wearing an eyepatch and a Breather.

"Who's she?" He asked Pentecost, and his voice was digitally scrawled. Mako checked, and found he had an implant against his ravaged throat, where his vocal chords used to be.

"Herb Taylor; this is Mako Mori." Stacker made introductions. "My daughter."

Mako straightened her shoulders automatically. People changed towards her when they found out the Sensei had adopted her.

But Taylor didn't even react. He looked at Mako, and she met his eyes for a moment. The sight of his missing limbs didn't make her gasp, but a look at his lone blue eye made her whimper. She felt a steadying hand on her shoulder, and she relaxed.

Taylor seemed barely aware of them as he made his way around his little room. He hooked another rope into his harness and pulled himself along the shelves, collecting plates, cups, ingredients... He was quite well practiced at it.

"Taylor." Stacker interrupted gently. "We're not here for tea."

Taylor froze, halfway through the process. "What?"

"I came to pay you." Stacker reminded him.

Taylor didn't turn. "For what?"

"For giving me information about Hannibal Chau."

Taylor turned. "Oh! That's right, I was going to tell you." He said, as though he'd just remembered. "Chau took over the Talon groups. And he did it without killing them. He's your best bet."

Stacker nodded, but didn't say anything.

Taylor sighed, his expression never changing. "And I told you that already, didn't I?"

"Days ago." Stacker nodded.

Taylor sighed. "In that case, would you like some tea?" He went back to his shelves, swinging back and forth like he was on a rope obstacle course.

"What's wrong with him?" Mako whispered.

Pentecost looked at Taylor with sympathy, but he didn't let it show on his face. "Rachnid hit him with a football stadium."

Mako winced, but got her face back under control quickly.

"Taylor!" Pentecost said again. "We can't stay for tea, I just wanted to pay you what you asked for."

"Oh, good." Taylor said. "What was that, again?"

Stacker pulled something out of his jacket. Mako recognized the micro Datacard as he flipped it over to Taylor like a coin. Taylor caught it and read the label. "Ooh. U2. This the live show out of Dublin?"

"No. The reunion tour for the Sydney rebuild."

"Ohh, good." It was hard to tell with such an artificial voice, but he seemed to have some emotion for once. "Luka was looking for this, right up to the last."

Stacker seemed sick to his stomach. "I can get you all sorts of things, Taylor. Things you need. You hate U2."

Taylor barely seemed to care. "What's your point?"

Stacker was about to answer, when his phone buzzed. He gave Taylor a quick nod of acknowledgement, and stepped outside to take it.

Taylor and Mako stared at each other in total silence for a moment. Mako couldn't look away from his gaze. It made her feel cold inside, but she couldn't pull away. It was the most unsettled she'd been since the last time she was this close to Onibaba.

Taylor took pity. "You may run away now."

"Thank you." Mako turned on her heel and ran outside to join her Sensei.

* * *

Pentecost seemed amused to see her. "Doctor Geiszler just called the Dome in a total panic. He seemed to think you would sit quietly and wait for him."

Mako smothered a grin. "Have you told him I'm with you?"

"Plenty of time for that after his execution." Pentecost told her lightly. "So. What do you think of Taylor?"

She didn't answer for a long time. "When my home was destroyed, I saw many bodies being taken away." Mako said quietly. "My friend at school? She was one of them. Her eyes were open when they loaded her into the truck. Her eyes were so... flat, like her eyes were made of glass, the way they give eyes to stuffed animals." She jerked her thumb back at the room. "There's nothing there, Sensei. His eye is empty."

Stacker nodded.

Mako lowered her voice. "Is he still alive?" She asked like she wasn't sure, and was scared to ask the question too loudly.

Stacker didn't answer. "Mako, the Dome also had a call from the hospital. The Doctors say that Tasmin is getting worse."

"We get that call once a month." Mako said, unconcerned. "She bounces back."

"I know, but-" Her Sensei hesitated.

"Excuse me." The man in the harness called from inside. "Tasmin? Would that be your better half, Pentecost?"

Stacker nodded bleakly as they both came inside. "Yeah. Yeah, it would."

Taylor reached out and hooked his way to a shelf. He pulled down a container, which looked like a hand lotion dispenser, and tossed it to Mako. "Give her that for me. On the house."

Mako glanced to Pentecost for permission, and her Sensei nodded. She took the jar and thanked the man, heading out.

Pentecost paused at the door. "You got everything you need?"

"Not even close." Taylor said without blinking. "Go away now. You make Luka nervous."

Pentecost tried again. "I meant it, Taylor. I can get you a better place, I can get you some help around here..."

Taylor gave him a look. "Now, what would a man, who has... EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD, do with a household staff?" He spun away from Stacker pointedly. "SHUT UP, LUKA! STOP TALKING WHEN YOU'RE NOT SAYING ANYTHING!"

Dead silence.

"GET OUT!" Taylor screamed. "JUST LEAVE US!"

Pentecost did so, as Taylor broke down, whispering. "Say something, Luka. Just say something. Please say something to me."

* * *

They didn't say anything until they reached ground level.

"Was he part of the Shatterdome, or just a civilian caught in the battle?" Mako asked. "Because if he was part of the Rachi fight, he would have been MK-1, and all the MK-1 riders are dead." She gave him a little sideways smile. "And I know you adopt people that the Kaiju make homeless."

Stacker hesitated. He wanted to tell her Taylor's story, but didn't want to lay it on her. "I'm more worried about Tasmin at the moment."

Mako nodded. "The doctors have called you in four times now."

Pentecost was about to respond, when there was a sudden alarm. The Alarms were screaming all over the Boneslum, and all over the city. Everyone quickly moved, in a state of controlled panic, locking up their possessions, shutting off their cooking sources...

"Kaiju Attack!" Pentecost and Mori shouted in the same breath. The alarms were automated. The instant the sensors around the Breach decided which way the new contact was moving, the alarm went out.

Stacker scooped Mako off the ground and started to run. Mako rode on his back lightly, with his arms hooked under her knees. If the Sensei hadn't been nimbly darting in and out of a crowd of panicked people, it would have looked like a piggyback ride. He was clearing over stalls and around pathways like a gazelle, and Mako had her head above the crowd, warning him which areas were gridlocked with people. Pentecost's phone was buzzing, but he didn't have a hand free to answer it.

Within a few minutes, they made it out of the Boneslum and made it back to the helicopter.

"Marshall, there's an alert on!" The pilot called, holding up his radio.

"Really?" Pentecost called over the siren as it howled.

* * *

"Get us to the Dome!" Pentecost ordered once they were in the air.

"There's no time!" Mako pointed out to the left. A Kaiju was already visible on the Horizon.

The city saw it too. The screaming was almost audible from the helicopter.

Mako stared. She had kept out of the Command Centre during the Breach Events. The whole Dome knew and accepted The Marshall's Daughter, but there were rules that everyone followed once the battle began.

"Too early." Stacker hissed. "Too early!"

Mako knew what he meant. The Kaiju came on a fairly regular schedule, plus or minus two weeks. This Kaiju was a month early. But Mako didn't care. She hadn't seen one live since she was ten years old.

And this one was the biggest, nastiest creature Mako had ever seen, alive or dead. It was coming toward the city, and fast. It had long spindly arms; which looked almost fragile against its bulk. But at its narrowest; the six spindly arms were still at least thirty meters across.

Each of the six limbs had spikes on the shoulders, the elbows and the wrists; with a wide back, armored with a heavy bone plate and dozens of sharp horns. It's stomach was covered in scales that fell over each other like chain mail. Its triangular head was big enough to swallow a house whole and shred it between four rows of razor teeth.

It moved faster than Mako could believe, powering through the ocean on it's six legs; charging toward the city, as if to avenge the Boneslum.

Standing firm between them, hundreds of meters out, Three Jaegers were being choppered into position.

Diablo Intercept, Geneva Hawk and Green Destiny were being carried into the harbor; ready to do battle. Mako barely registered them at first, her glare on the Kaiju so intense she was sure it knew she was there.

"Sir!" The pilot called. "I got the Dome on the line!"

Stacker took the radio and keyed the mike. "This is Pentecost. I have a visual where I am; I'll work from here! Where are we on pre-flight?" He listened to whatever his people were telling him. "Look, I can't make it to the Dome; the Contact is coming in way too fast! I'll have to carry the ball from here!"

The helicopters released their cargo. Three super-war machines dropped to the ocean and hit the seabed running. The Kaiju saw them and was almost eager to meet them; letting out a roar so loud that it caused turbulence for their helicopter.

Mako noticed other helicopters. News choppers fighting for position.

"Patch me through." Pentecost ordered, and waited for the connection. "Pilots, Codename Killaton made it past the Miracle Mile before we could deploy. Take that as the hint. This thing is fast. I'd rather keep this in the harbor. Geneva Hawk, and Diablo Intercept; stay on the harbor. Keep it away from the city. Green Destiny: Break and ATTACK!"

Green Destiny charged like a linebacker. It took a flying leap in, fired its boosters and made a flying kick. It slammed Killaton across the jaw...

And the Kaiju's head spun around 360 degrees, coming back to the same angle; where it chomped down hard on Green Destiny's arm, sinking in the rows of teeth.

Green Destiny drew back a fist for another attack... and missed completely. Killaton was faster than anything they'd ever seen. It caught Green Destiny's free fist in two of it's clawed hands, and dug in the other four, bouncing off the ground enough to get all four sets of claws dug in.

Mako let out a shout. Before any of the three Jaegers could react, Green Destiny had its entire front half torn clean off. The two halves of the Jaeger fell in opposite directions.

"Dispatch the rescue choppers!" Pentecost roared. "Diablo Intercept, open fire!"

Diablo Intercept's chest opened, revealing the rows of missile launchers. Over a dozen guided missiles hammered out and slammed down, missing the Kaiju as it pivoted nimbly on one of it's legs, spinning clear of the fire like a ballet dancer the size of a skyscraper.

Geneva Hawk charged forward. The enormous buzzsaws on its wrists spun up to full speed; and the machine struck, slashing the buzzsaws like a pair of switchblades; hacking out jagged slices of flesh.

Mako watched, unable to blink, unable to look away. Jaeger combat was vicious. It was faster than she thought it would be; but no less based on power. There was enough pure violence to uproot forests. Geneva Hawk wasn't punching or kicking, it was hitting with spinning razor blades, trying to dismember the monster.

Mako grinned, delighted to see the bright sprays of blue and green blood. Strapped into her seat, she had her fists up, miming punches and ducks as the Jaeger moved.

Killaton had one of it's arms ripped out, but had five more to keep up the fight. Kaiju weren't stupid brutes. It knew the danger of the buzzsaws now, and gripped lower, catching it in the wrist. Another claw flashed up to do the same, and broke the buzzsaw clean off.

"Diablo Intercept! Get in there now!" Stacker yelled.

Too late.

In the same move, five sets of enormous claws dug into Geneva Hawke. Two at the head, two at the turbine, one at the neck. They all pulled at once, and huge cracks formed, spiderwebbing the armored hide.

Sparks and oil and flame gushed from the cracks in the bleeding body of Geneva Hawk, which slapped weakly at the Kaiju, before going flat limp.

"System failure!" Mako yelled. "Get them out!"

Too late. As Diablo Intercept slammed the Kaiju from behind, Killaton had torn its head off and crushed it between its claws. It fought to turn around, but Diablo Intercept had positioning, bending the Kaiju back against it's own spine. Killaton tried to reach between it's own shoulder blades; and failed. It's head rotated on its shoulders and tried to take a bite out of Diablo Intercept's face.

Diablo Intercept headbutted the Kaiju and sank its huge hands into the creature's arms, snapping them. Killaton shrieked, a sound so loud it rattled the air.

"Vent your exhaust!" Stacker ordered.

Diablo intercept obeyed, opening the turbine. The nuclear heat was enough to scorch the huge armored plate on the creature's back. Not enough to burn through, but enough to crackle the bone. Diablo Intercept brought its foot down hard on the Kaiju's lower legs, breaking them too. As Killaton fell forward awkwardly, Diablo Intercept struck, ripping at the charred armored horns until it worked it's way through, clutching at the huge spine with both hands, for the fatal blow.

It was a victory, and the city had been spared; but none of them in the helicopters were smiling.

* * *

"Two Jaegers in less than three minutes." Pentecost growled. "Whatever Killaton was, it was something new. But the real question, is why the Jaegers weren't deployed until it already reached the harbor?""

The pilots said nothing, but they agreed. The rescue choppers had been at the site of battle before Diablo Intercept was done, but there were no survivors.

"How many pilots could we save if we had a Jaeger with an ejector seat?" Mako mumbled to herself; but her eyes were on the Jaeger Bay. A row of immortal Steel Samurai... With two empty places.

"Sir, it took five minutes to get confirmation." A young tech named Tendo was trying to tell him. "The second watch was monitoring, because nobody thought it would happen for another month; and nobody had seen a contact move so fast; so they assumed it was a false positive."

"In fact, sir; there was only one technician on duty who insisted we launch before we get it confirmed." Someone said. "And as much as I'd like to say it was me; it was Tendo Choi."

"So, just to sum up; we lost two of our best pilot teams in less than four minutes; after getting caught with our shorts down; because we all thought it would be another three weeks?" Pentecost concluded. "Someone explain to me why you didn't ALL want to launch right away?"

"Sir, the directive from the UN-"

"Money?" Pentecost growled. " _This_  is what you're telling me? Yes, it costs two million dollars to launch a Jaeger. You know what it costs to rebuild a city? Or a pair of Jaegers, come to that? If we weren't so damn close to landfall; all three could have engaged at once; and we would have ended this. What did those four pilots cost?"

Dead silence.

"First priority is cleanup of the harbor." Pentecost growled, getting back to work. "Bring the Jaegers back to the Dome, and drag the Kaiju out to sea before the black marketeers figure out how to swim. Civilian and commercial traffic will remain outside the port, as will the dockside workers. We had to open up the nuclear exhaust, I want fallout readings checked, and rechecked all over that bay before we let cleanup through, and then check it all over again. And someone get a ride together for Mako."

Mako looked up in surprise. "Where am I going?" She demanded. "I can help you."

"You  _are_  helping me." Her Sensei told her. "I need you to check on Tasmin. The Doctors told us to get there fast, and I want the reason why to stay in the family."

* * *

Stacker had Tasmin moved to Asia, so that he could be close to her. Her condition had deteriorated pretty rapidly. So fast that Mako was half certain that it was just a bad patch, and that Tasmin would be back at the Dome soon.

Even though she knew better.

When she came into the private room and saw Tasmin, Mako actually froze at the door. The woman she knew, who always looked lean and deadly, was now a barely moving skeleton. Her hair had fallen out, she had lesions on her skin...

"Don't stare." Tasmin said without self-pity. "When  _you_  hit thirty-seven, little kids will find you hideous too."

Mako shook it off and came over. "I'm from Japan, lady. More nukes used on us than anyone, even before the War started. You think you've got anything I haven't seen before?"

No inch of pity given, none offered. Mako felt instantly at ease, and so did Tasmin.

"So, how bad was it?" Tasmin croaked.

Mako sat down. She had long been Stacker and Tasmin's spy. Nobody bothered to watch their words around a child. "Two Jaegers down. Stacker's bringing some from Russia to make up the numbers. Doctor Newt is getting worried that the attacks are coming faster."

"Are they?"

"Yup." Mako nodded. "But that's not the problem."

"No, the problem is that whatever the Kaiju are, they've finally thrown something at us that can kill two Jaeger at once." Tasmin nodded. "I saw it on the news. That new Contact was something new. It took two Machines down in less than four minutes."

Mako glanced back at the door to make sure they had privacy. "The Brain Trust is racing to think up reasons for it."

"The Kaiju are evolving." Tasmin coughed.

Mako nodded, unconcerned. "So are we."

Tasmin sighed. "We never knew..." She broke down coughing for a while. "We never knew, how this was gonna end. The Kaiju War is a series of battles fought few and far between, kiddo. But time's gonna come when the stalemate breaks. I'm sorry I had to leave it for you."

"Who would you rather leave it for?" Mako said softly.

"And don't pretend that you're not secretly pleased about it."

"Pleased?!" Mako hissed. "Are you crazy?"

"Well, not pleased; but I think if the War ended before you got a chance to fight it; you'd set The Dome on fire." Tasmin retorted. "The Kaiju are getting tougher, and I think you want them at their hardest when you start bitch-slapping them all the way back to the Breach."

Mako was silent a moment. "You know him better than me. Was he lying when he said my time would come?"

Tasmin still hadn't moved, beyond tilting her head. "Stacker's got a strong sense of justice, my dear. He'll hate to send you into it, but a promise is a promise." She coughed, her rail-thin body lurching. "And I don't know him better than you; I know him better than  _anyone_."

Mako smiled. That much was true. "I remember once, I saw you cut your thumb on something. Papercut." Mako said softly. "Sensei was in the next room, but he had come in with a band-aid the second you did it, before you could even ask where he kept them."

Tasmin nodded.

"I remember, the two of you made dinner. You were passing the pans back and forth, handing each other things without asking for them. You were doing it so fast, without a word between you. It was amazing to see."

Tasmin nodded again. "Ask your question."

Mako struggled to word it."Who will my partner be?'

"Dunno." Tasmin coughed. "Ask yourself, Mako." She said finally. "Ask yourself, why always siblings? Close family bonds... Why only one married couple? It has nothing to do with fraternization regs. Why?"

"Because..." Mako floundered. "Because you need someone who thinks the same as you do. The same thoughts, the same way of thinking."

"Before the war, when I was married?" Tasmin coughed. "I hid all my guilty secrets, and kept them hidden. Then we got closer and he started discovering them, and then we got married and he discovered a few more. The ones I wouldn't even tell my husband? He knew not to ask. And I didn't ask about his either. And then the war came, and he died. Stacker and I Drifted... and just like that he had everything, and I had everything about him. Things I wouldn't even tell my husband. Imagine finding someone who would get that close. Then imagine having them break your heart."

"There can be good things, too." Mako offered.

"Not when they're suddenly gone." Tasmin coughed. "Don't believe me? Ask your father next week."

Mako looked down. "I don't have any family left." She confessed. "And I'm... young. I'm told that I have to be more... grown up, before I find someone that  _right_  for me."

"That's true. People change fast at your age. Who could know the way you think so perfectly, when you haven't figured it out yourself yet?"

Mako looked up. "Can you actually hear Sensei think?"

Tasmin sighed. "It's called the Drift Hangover. When you Drift with someone? Their neural paths get put into your brain. They share the load that way; but when the Drift is over, you have each other's neurons in your brain. Stacker's way of thinking is  _literally_  wired into my head. It's like hearing him in my head, but it's not like I have him on the phone. I just know what he would think, no matter what happens."

Mako shrank a bit in relief. "I remember you during training, taking it so hard on me. You were trying to break me, so that I wouldn't keep going. Then today, Sensei took me to see Herb Taylor, and then sent me here to you. If you're trying to talk me out of it, you know it won't work."

"Kid, you're the smartest dumb person I know." Tasmin rasped without sympathy. "Stacker didn't send you here to see the horror show or to babysit me." She licked her dry lips. "He sent you here because with Geneva Hawk and Green Destiny destroyed, he doesn't dare leave the Dome for a false alarm. He sent you here because he wants to know if the doctors are being cautious again, or if I'm really circling the drain this time."

Mako made her face go fierce. "You're not going anywhere."

Tasmin tried to smirk. "Strong, you are with the Force; young Mako. But not that strong."

Mako blinked. "Huh?"

Tasmin's face twisted. "Aw, Hell; watch a movie, will you? Read a book or something? Two years now, and  _still_  my best puns have been wasted on you."

"Yes Ma'am." Mako promised instantly, and reached into her bag. "This is for you."

Tasmin tried, but she couldn't lift her arms. "Help?"

Mako felt cold all over, but she brought the bottle closer.

"Taylor's stuff?" Tasmin croaked. "He makes Kaiju-based remedies now. What's he got for me?"

Mako squirted the dispenser into her hand, and wrinkled her nose at the smell. "I have no idea."

Tasmin sniffed. "I do. Bring that over. Rub it on my wrists?"

Mako did so. Tasmin sighed, and Mako could hear the machines change the pitch of their beeping. She froze, terrified.

"Don't stop." Tasmin told her. "Radiation scarring. Joint pain is a killer; and that stuff is Kaiju synaptic fluid." She smirked. "With lavender scented skin cream. Good for joints."

Mako screwed up her face. She had Kaiju goop on her hands. She had the otherworldly crap on her. There was Kaiju filth seeping under her nails.  _Hell, it's probably from Onibaba._  "How did Taylor know?"

"Because he's been there." Tasmin nodded. "They didn't tell you? Taylor used to be a Jaeger Jockey."

Mako froze. "Really?" She replayed the conversation in her head. "Herb and Luka Taylor. Sapphire Raven. Rachnid hit them with a football stadium."

"We kept it off TV, but one of the pilots survived."

Mako blinked. "Why keep it secret?"

Tasmin just looked at her. "You did  _meet_  the man, didn't you?"

Mako looked down.

Tasmin bared her teeth. She was missing a few. "Getting the picture yet, babe? One in ten thousand applicants qualify for work at the Pan-Pacific Defense Corp. One in ten thousand of those qualify as a pilot, and the odds of finding a Drift Compatible partner are like winning two lotteries." She jerked her chin down at herself. "And me and Taylor are what's left of the ones that actually made it." She gave Mako a hard look. "You sure you want this to be your future, kiddo?"

Mako didn't even blink. "Yup."

Tasmin rolled her eyes. "How did I know you'd say that?" She coughed again. "Mako, you better call your father."

Mako felt cold and hot inside. "Really?"

Tasmin nodded. "It's time I said goodbye."

Mako made the call with trembling hands. Stacker commandeered a jet and was on his way quickly. Mako returned to Tasmin's side. "He's on his way." She wavered. Until that moment, she didn't really believe that it was happening; but Tasmin wouldn't make Stacker come back too often. Saying goodbye today meant...

Tasmin nodded. "Hit the remote, I should sit up a bit."

Mako fetched the remote, and had her hospital bed recline a bit. "Okay." Tasmin croaked. "I should be giving you deep life wisdom right now." She thought for a moment. "Okay. You're too young to be worried about boys, but remember this: Don't make a fuss about putting the seat down. They don't complain about having to lift it."

Mako was crying. "Okay."

"And any guy worth keeping will pick a fight with Stacker. Stacker will murder any guy who likes you; because it's his duty. But the ones willing to take him on, guns blazing, are the ones you stick with."

Mako nodded.

"Um... Don't talk to Stacker about girl stuff. Enough of your life is spent in a Shatterdome, which is a Temple of Testosterone, no matter how many women become Jaeger Pilots. You're a tomboy, but find yourself a girlfriend to talk to, and anything you don't tell Stacker, you go to her."

Mako nodded. "Yes Ma'am."

"Let's see, what else... Don't ever rely on a gadget to do something you don't know how to do yourself. With the exception of taking a punch from a Kaiju, that goes for all the readouts and HUDs in a Steel Samurai. Calculators, GPS, translation apps... Those machines are there to make you faster, not to make you stupid and dependant on stuff that can break down."

Mako sniffed. "Yes Ma'am."

"And never order stew that you don't cook yourself." Tasmin coughed. "Too easy to pretend pigeons and mice are chickens when you've got it cooking that long."

Mako wanted to smile. Tasmin was trying to make her laugh.

"Life is hard." Tasmin said seriously. "Too hard and too short to tolerate idiots; but pick your moments, because the guy you kick in the face today might be your boss tomorrow. That sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it happens more often than you think."

Mako nodded, wiping her eyes.

"It  _is_  easier to ask forgiveness than permission." Tasmin croaked. "But harder to get either the next time."

Mako was struggling not to cry.

"And try to remember how I looked  _before_  today. Because I don't want you to think of THIS every time you think of me."

"I promise." Mako said instantly.

"And I'll never see you grow up." Tasmin croaked. "Which is fine with me. When you become a teenager, you'll be getting things pierced and dying your hair blue... But I always wanna think of that hard-as-nails little ten year old firecracker that made Combat Pilots cry for their mommies."

Mako smiled. "I loved doing it."

Tasmin cackled, breaking down coughing again, groaning in agony.

Mako held up the dispenser. "More?"

Tasmin closed her eyes. "More."

* * *

Stacker arrived a few hours later. He came into the room, and Mako sat at attention automatically.

"You bring flowers?" Tasmin croaked.

"Chocolates." Stacker nodded. "I already gave them to the nursing staff."

"Seriously? First time in my life I'm underweight, and you _give away_  my chocolates?" Tasmin groused, but her tone was fairly light. "Thank Herb for the joint cream."

"I will." Stacker nodded. "Mako, would you give us a minute?"

Mako nodded and put a kiss on Tasmin's forehead. The older woman held her close for a moment longer, to whisper in her ear. "He'll be strong through this, but he'll be hard." She hissed. "Once I go, I'll take the part of him that is softer with us. But not the part that loves you. He'll never lose that."

Mako whispered back. "I know."

Tasmin still held on. "You  _will_  get your chance, my dearest love." She whispered. "And you'll find me. I promise, you'll always find me in the Drift."

Tasmin released her then. Mako slipped out, but peeked in the door. The two of them were close to each other, eyes closed, breathing in when the other breathed out. They were in sync; and just for a second, Mako actually felt scared for Stacker. She had seen the two of them together. When they were having a conversation, nobody could follow them, except each other. When one needed something, the other was already holding it out.

They weren't half a person each; they were the same person.

Mako felt tears gathering again, and she wiped them away quickly. That one soul in two bodies was her family. More than that, they were the family she had adopted. She knew that legally, Stacker had adopted her, but she still felt like  _she_  had chosen  _them_  to be her guardians.

And she was about to lose them too. Stacker would live, and be as solid as a Jaeger just by being in the room; but losing Tasmin would carve half of him away.

Just as losing her family had carved away half of her.

She loved them so much.

_Add it to the list._ She told herself.  _Another name to carve into the Kaiju's cold dead hide._

Somehow it wasn't helping as much this time.

Their expressions were changing, shifting as though they were having a conversation, but they weren't speaking. At least, not in any way Mako could see. Their 'conversation' continued for several minutes.

She loved them both  _so much_.

* * *

Geiszler had been in a total panic. Tokyo City was freaking out from the near miss, and everyone was scrambling. A whole city was trying to move at once, and there were plenty of people separated.

When they had returned to the Tokyo Dome, Geiszler was in his lab, spending half his time trying to explain the sudden change in the Kaiju attacker, and the other half manning three different phones, searching through all the city's lost children. Plenty of kids had been parted from their parents in the chaos; and Geiszler was trying to communicate to four different shelters and three different Tokyo police departments that he was trying to find a lost Asian girl. He was one voice among thousands, searching for one kid among thousands, and he didn't speak Japanese, so he wasn't having much luck.

Stacker cleared his throat; and the terrified genius spun around. "Marshal!" His eyes focused suddenly, noting Mako was at attention beside him. "Um... you're probably thinking there's a really good reason for that."

"No, I don't." Stacker said immediately, anti-life on his face. "But if you've managed to invent one, I'd be glad to hear it."

Geiszler had nothing.

Pentecost suddenly looked ancient. He put a hand to his nose briefly. "Doctor, your massive screw-up would ordinarily be enough to have me remove a few of your internal organs in alphabetical order. But through no fault of your own, I simply don't have the energy to deal with you right now." He glanced down. "Mako, go back to our room."

Mako obeyed, sending Geiszler a hard look. "We had a deal." She hissed at him.

Geiszler glanced to Pentecost in panic again, but Pentecost was already at the television. The talking heads were dissecting the battle, saying all the empty words they said when a Kaiju attack was put down. "Talk to me about Killaton."

Mako kept moving. It was the first Category 2 Kaiju they had seen. It wouldn't be the last.

* * *

They never returned to the hospital. Tasmin died a few hours later.

* * *

Mako couldn't sleep. She got up and padded her way to the door, sending a quick look at Pentecost's room. The Sensei had not returned to their quarters, which was not uncommon. He worked through the night often.

Mako padded her way to the laboratory. Geiszler worked through the night too.

He looked up when he saw her. "Hey." He commented. "You got me in trouble, you know."

Mako nodded. "I know. I... I'm sorry."

"You say that, but I think it happened exactly the way you planned it." Geiszler shot back, and made his way over to one of his pieces of equipment. A hospital bed with a large metal ring over the head of it. "All right, come on."

Mako came over and he hoisted her up. She wriggled a bit, until she was lying back on the bed, staring up at the metal ring that circled her head. Geiszler was doing something at a computer, and the ring lit up, rolling back and forth in front of her eyes. "All right, Kid. I'm going to be doing some pretty careful mapping of your retinas, so you'll have to keep your eyes open and your head still."

Mako obeyed. "How did the tattoo turn out?"

Geiszler sighed. "He only got half of it done by the time Killaton attacked. Your dad said he'd fill in the rest with a ballpoint pen if I ever tried to babysit you again."

Mako smirked. Then she remembered Tasmin and the smirk vanished.

Geiszler had apparently heard. "I was sorry to hear about your mom."

Mako answered reflexively. "Which one?"

Geiszler winced. "I meant Marshall Tasmin."

"I had a family." Mako said harshly. "Onibaba killed them. Then I had Tasmin and Onibaba killed her too; it just took longer. Now I have Sensei, and a mission."

Geiszler was tapping at his computer again. "Kid, I have three loves in my life. Monster movies, my work, and hot pockets. I'm not gonna pretend I know what you're going through; but my teachers told me once that out-living your enemies is the best revenge. Onibaba killed people you love; but you had lunch in a building made out of Onibaba's cold dead skull today."

Mako snorted. The idea was frankly ridiculous.

"You can sit up."

Mako did so. "Well?"

Geiszler turned the computer screen around. The result was plainly obvious.  **Capability** :  _Positive_.

Mako smirked. As far as she was concerned; her last obstacle had been removed. She was on the path now. "Thank you."

She moved to get back to the floor, when he stopped her. "You ever pull an end-run like that on me again, I'll tell your father the test came back the other way."

Mako glared right back. "I can just get another test."

Geiszler gave her a pitying look. "You think I wouldn't find a way around that? Smart guy like me?"

Mako considered the options and nodded graciously. "I understand."

Geiszler didn't break her gaze. "And I am very sorry for your loss."

She could tell he meant both statements equally. "Thank you."

Detente. Having achieved a truce, the two shook hands like professionals and parted without another word.

* * *

She found Pentecost in the gym, on the Dojo mats. He was covered in sweat as he spun his staff around; following the forms of three different combat styles. "Can't sleep?"

Mako shook her head, and went to the heavy bag. She knew how to throw a punch without hurting herself; and found it was a way to wear herself out, and switch off bad thoughts.

But this time it wasn't working. Onibaba was a frequent mental image when she worked the bag. She often pretended her fist was made of Jaeger steel and the punching bag was Onibaba... But this time it didn't help.

All she saw was Tasmin.

She punched harder.

There was something building inside Mako as she wailed away on the punching bag. It felt like she was about to scream, or break down sobbing, or both. The emotion was bubbling up and she forced it down, teeth bared, as she struck out, again and again.

The sound of wood on concrete rang out as Stacker made a heavy strike, slamming his staff down hard. He was clearly having the same problem.

_Sensei has lost a partner._ Mako thought in panic.  _Is he going to become like Taylor?_

The sudden realization filled her with alarm, and she forgot all about her workout. Before Pentecost could rise back to full height, Mako had thrown herself across the room to his side, and wrapped her arms tight around his neck. He froze for a moment, surprised by the unexpected hug attack; before he let go of his staff and returned it.

"Why does it feel this way?" Mako asked him, still wiping tears before they could form. "Why is this worse?"

Stacker pulled back enough to meet her gaze head on. "Because, when you lost your family; you hid behind your rage. You turned to us because you saw us as bulletproof. We didn't bend, we hit back."

"Steel Samurai." Mako whispered.

Stacker nodded. "But we aren't bulletproof, Mako. We bleed, and we die, and we mourn." He gave her a pointed look. "Collect your staff."

There were a dozen bo staff's in various sizes lined along the edge of the mats. Including one three feet shorter than all the others. Mako was the only fourteen year old on the base; so she needed her own, custom sized. She picked it up and moved into the routine, almost in step with her Sensei.

But it was harder this time. Harder than the punching bag. Her movements were choppy.

"I first met Tasmin in training." Pentecost said softly. "I lost my sister soon after. Tasmin was the one that taught me how to let it go."

"Let what go?" Mako hissed, trying to focus. "Don't pretend you're not still angry."

"I am, but Tasmin taught me how to to keep that from controlling me."

"She taught  _me_  how to fight." Mako bit out.

"This style of combat?" Pentecost told her. "It relies on proficiency in skill, and in control. If your skill is lacking, the routine makes it clear. If your control is lacking, the routine makes it  _very_  clear. To be a Jaeger Jockey, you need both skill and control."

Mako fought for control. Her movements should be smooth and natural; like watching a professional dancer. But she was shifting on her feet, constantly trying to stay in the right place.

"And if you wanna drive a Jaeger, you need to  _feel_  more deeply and more openly than most people do."

Mako felt the emotion building again. "What?"

Stacker showed nothing but sympathy for her on his face. "We take nothing into the Drift but what we have in ourselves. But we take  _all_  of it. You open completely to your co-pilot. If you take wrath into the Drift, then you inflict it on your partner. Anything you can't let go, neither will they. You can't pretend bad things aren't there."

Mako said nothing.

"Mako, sadness fades with time. Anger has to be released." He made the point. "Have you let yourself feel anything but anger since your mom and dad died?"

It had been building since she was ten years old, and she'd never let it reach her. Every time she felt it bubbling up, she clenched her fists a little harder, punched the bag a little harder...

"It's the only way to handle it, Mako." Pentecost told her. "You can't fight it back forever, or you'll drown." Pentecost went into his routine again, his face becoming still as his body moved without a single wasted movement. "Tranquillity. The emotion doesn't leave you, it passes through you, until only you remain."

Mako struggled to match his motions, but she was struggling. And in truth, she was fighting herself more than she let on. Her vision was blurring, her breath was catching... He was right. The emotion hadn't gone away. It had grown bigger somehow while she wasn't looking. And then Tasmin had died, and suddenly it was coming at her like a tidal wave.

And now the Sensei was telling her to dive into it.

Mako lost her rhythm as her eyes blurred with tears unshed, and she dropped her staff.

In the same instant, Stacker caught the staff, dead centre, with the end of his own, and flipped it back into her hands. She caught it clumsily, clutching it to her chest.

Silence.

Mako felt the tears coming...

...and ran out of the dojo, forcing them back down.

* * *

She pretended to be asleep when he came back to their quarters. He wasn't fooled.

He sat on the edge of her cot, and she squeezed her eyes shut. She was coiled tightly in on herself. She didn't even have a teddy bear any more.

"You are fourteen years old. You've had a lot of loss." He said softly. "Almost three hundred million people have died in this war, and we're still learning the rules. That's a whole lot of loss yet to come. You've had to go through it twice, and you've picked the front lines as your home. If you can't let it out, then it stays in you; and you can't live that way forever."

Mako said nothing.

Pentecost sighed. "Good night, daughter." He said in Japanese, and went back to his bed.

She heard him shift as he tried to sleep. She was coiled in so tight that her body hurt. Tasmin would have said that proved it. Staying coiled in so tightly was causing her pain.

_You'll always find me in the Drift._ Tasmin had told her.

Except Stacker had lost his partner. he had retired from combat. He would never Drift again. Mako didn't know what that meant, but she aimed to Drift one day. Stacker had lost her forever.

She made herself unclench, and she slipped off the cot. She padded over to her father and stood at the head of his bed. He shifted over and made room for her. He didn't reach, and neither did she.

They pretended to sleep then, father and daughter in mourning.


	3. 20 - 0

When Mako Mori was sixteen, she started using the simulator.

They had moved again. Another Jaeger Base, this one in Canada. Pentecost brought some of his team along; including her. Unlike the others, she wore no uniform; just the jumpsuit. Unlike the rest of the team, she was at home in the cold. Canada's winter was no worse than Japan's.

Stacker had taken her to the observation port. Outside, she saw a crowd gathered at the loading doors. They were waving signs and shouting something, but Mako couldn't hear them from where she was. At the fenceline, a row of soldiers stood guard with rifles, staring down a crowd that outnumbered them a hundred to one.

Pentecost lifted his radio. "The roads still aren't safe, you'll have to chopper them in." He ordered, and put his radio away.

"They've gotten closer since yesterday." She observed the protestors quietly.

"No. Not closer." Pentecost promised her. "There are just more of them."

"Why are they protesting here?" Mako wondered. "We didn't cut them off."

"You and I know that, but we eat fine tonight, and these people are fighting in the markets over the last bar of soap, the last bottled water, the last tank of gas, the last... everything." He said, with something like sympathy in his voice. "They aren't angry; they're scared. Hunger is... a terrible thing to face."

Mako hadn't faced civilian-level rationing in more than six years, and as tight as things were when she was a girl, it had only gotten worse. Following Stacker around had promised her three square meals a day. Something that nobody else could promise.

But the sympathy in his voice almost took her by surprise. He'd changed with the death of Tasmin. He was... tempered, like her father's swords, once everything else had been smelted away. Not angry, just hard. He seemed smaller somehow; but not in any way she could see. He was smaller inside.

Mako and Tasmin had private jokes and little secrets; as all family did. Pentecost had always smiled when he heard one. Now he did not. He had always played music when he wanted to relax. Now he didn't even  _have_  music in his room any more. His interests had narrowed. Things that had once interested him or mattered to him was now less than worthless in his eyes. Things that set him off were hard to predict, and the light in his eyes had dimmed.

It was like he'd gotten smarter and faster and stronger, but he'd forgotten half the things he knew.

But his tactical skill was at its peak. His standards were more exacting, without being cruel, because he held himself to a much higher standard than anyone under his command. Half the people who worked for him were oddly convinced he could carry the whole Dome on his back.

Mako was at attention beside Stacker as always, when she noticed the helicopter in the distance. She kept her eyes on it until it landed, and people got out, coming in from the heliport. "Is that Herc Hansen?" She asked quietly.

"It is." Pentecost confirmed. "His son is training here, and he's slated to be put in command of The Australasian Shatterdome, so he's... auditing."

"Auditing what?" Mako asked.

"Personnel. A Marshal gets to choose a lot of his Command Staff and his Response Teams."

Mako couldn't help the way she spun toward him, almost like a hopeful puppy.

"No." Stacker told her firmly.

Mako deflated.

Pentecost gave her a look. "Mako, you're sixteen. You can't even join the Academy yet, let alone a Command Team."

"I don't want Command, I want Combat." Mako said sullenly. "I hate that I have to wait two more years. You know I'm ready now."

She turned away from her Sensei and noticed a few recruits peeking at her out of the corner of their eyes. Mako realized she was still plastered up close to her Sensei, looking up pleadingly. She was acting like Stacker's daughter, the way she had always acted, but nobody here knew about their connection. She was a young Asian girl, and he was a much older black man. She had learned the western way on personal space and decorum, and knew why the recruits were whispering to each other.

* * *

At first, Mako didn't understand why people made such a fuss over her sleeping in Pentecost's quarters when she came of age. All five members of her own family, though it was getting hard to remember them, all slept in one room. They had to. It wasn't uncommon for three or four families to sleep in one house; even before Hammerdown had destroyed two thirds of the housing district. Closeness was a fact of existence.

Her adopted parent understood this facet of Japanese life, but was still a westerner, and a figure of authority. In the interests of propriety, Mako was given her own Quarters when they reached the new base.

She hated it. She didn't recognize any of the sounds at night, like she did in the base she knew. She hadn't felt so alone since hiding behind a dumpster.

She put all her fear and loneliness into her training. Her training schedule brought her into contact with some of the Cadets. Canada was the first Dome Mako had lived in that trained new recruits. After basic, the PPDC Cadets were placed in Shatterdomes. There were very few places you could learn how a Jaeger worked. Mako had seen all their files; and knew the majority of them wouldn't see combat; but they were all determined to be one of the special chosen few. It made these...  _kids_ , so damn cocky. Mako was two or three years younger than all of them, but she still thought of them as kids. The way their eyes lit up when they saw how good the food was, the way they couldn't stop peeking at the Jaegers...

They were cocky as combat veterans, and green as kindergarten drop-outs; and they had a chance that Mako would have killed for. She wasn't sure if she admired them or despised them; but it was definitely one or the other.

She pretended not to hear the whispers. Most of the local staff and pilots had no idea that she was the Marshal's adopted Daughter, but his team deferred to her, and she had anything she asked Pentecost for; save a Jaeger of her own. The rumors that Mako was Pentecost's mistress spread quickly. Other rumors countered that she was his personal student, trained from birth for the Jaeger Program.

Mako had no patience for rumors. Her mother had taught her that words were just air, and the important things were always in what never got said. In Japan, discretion was as important as breathing. With so many people, there was no such thing as privacy, so their walls existed in their minds and hearts.

She was already feeling tense and off balance, when one of the hotshots whispered something, deliberately being loud enough for her to overhear; and she had to respond. "So." The cadet asked some of his classmates. "You think the Old Man got the secret tunnel to her room finished yet?"

Mako rose smoothly from her seat and stepped up to him. "Hello. I'm new here." She said politely. "Can you show me where the dojo is?"

She knew, of course; but the cadet was only too happy to show off.

* * *

He led her to the dojo, where half a dozen teams were sparring; honing their Drift Scores. Mako came in and selected a bo staff. "Would you spar with me, please?" She asked the moron sweetly. "I need something to keep me busy while that tunnel is being dug."

She had him on the mat in two moves. He got up for round two, and she had him down in one move. He was cautious the third time, and lasted three moves. By now the others were watching, and the moron was giving her a hooded look. He knew he was going to lose this one, and was just trying not to have it be humiliating.

Letting him stay on his feet a few more minutes would have been a mercy.

Mako was not a particularly merciful person.

The moron was flat on his face again, and Mako tapped his cheek lightly, slapping him awake with her staff. "By the way, my  _name_  is Mako Mori."

"Chuck Hansen." The idiot groaned, returning the introduction automatically.

Mako didn't react, but inside she suddenly felt a bolt of panic. Herc Hansen was here, auditing a staff for his new command in Australia, and she had just made his son look like an amateur...

A slow clap rang out.

Mako spun, caught with the cookie jar again. Pentecost was in the doorway. Herc Hansen was with him, trying hard not to smirk. "Miss Mori." Pentecost said calmly. "This area is for recruits to the Jaeger program. You're not on the list."

"Yes sir." Mako said sullenly. She had been in one dojo or another a hundred times, and he wouldn't care if she came back ten minutes after he left; but he had to bring the 'demonstration' to a close, and dismissing her was the fastest way.

Her eyes flicked to Herc Hansen as returned her staff to the rack. Chuck had rolled to his feet, and was stepping over to have words with his father.

"Feeling stupid?" Herc asked his son.

"More sore than stupid." Chuck admitted quietly. "She's fast."

"She was trained by the best." Herc said simply, gesturing at Pentecost.

Mako said nothing to them as she slid past them at the doorway and left, but she could feel Chuck's eyes all over her. "She's cute, too."

"She's underage, she's the Marshal's top prodigy, and she's apparently quite capable of beating you up at will." His father said smartly. "Still think she's cute?"

"Nosir." Chuck got the point at once. "But I think she likes me."

Mako pretended she hadn't heard them as she headed for the elevator, but she could hear them both smiling. She didn't let the relief show on her face until the elevator doors closed.

* * *

Chuck Hansen had received plenty of ribbing from his classmates. Mako noticed one or two of them watching her. She decided she felt an affinity for them. They were here to pilot Jaegers. They were after the same prize she was.

Chuck had made an apology, and seemed sincere enough about it. Mako had returned it, and the two of them became sparring partners. Chuck learned fast, and while he never made a move, the two of them became fast friends. He was quick to learn everything she could throw at him about the dojo, and she was eager to learn as much as she could about the training that only Cadets could take part in.

Especially the simulator. It looked like a VR headset, but it could simulate Jaeger combat better than anything they had back when Mako was tearing apart combat pilots. The movements were more responsive, the options more variable.

Newt Geiszler had developed a Feedback system, to simulate actual combat; though that was locked to the pilots that had already been commissioned. Chuck couldn't get to the Feedback Levels, and neither could Mako.

The simulator was the key part of the training regimen. More than anything else, the simulator showed what kind of skill you had for actual combat. The competition for the high score was no less intense than it was in Tokyo City.

And, Mako was thrilled to learn, the Feedback Sim had a solo option.

She sat in with all their lessons. She had been sitting in one lectures and sessions and briefings since she was ten years old. She had managed to clamp down on her 'Teacher's Pet' reaction, no longer shouting out the answers she knew by heart.

But there was a wall between her and the other students. She wasn't one of them. She wasn't a recruit, or a student, or a trainee, or a part of the Shatterdome staff.

What she  _was_ , exactly... was hard to define.

These thoughts chased her, when suddenly the alarms rang out. There was movement at the Breach.

"Kaiju!" Almost a dozen of the students shouted.

The Dome was a brief flurry of activity.

"Too early! Too early!" Someone was shouting as they ran down the hallways.

Mako knew what that meant. Every time the Kaiju attacked, they had to redraw the pattern. There hadn't been an overdue Kaiju attack in four years. They just kept coming, faster and faster.

There was no panic, no fear. The Dome was well trained, and everyone knew their job.

"Dad!" Chuck shouted at the sight of the familiar face.

Herc Hansen was Stacker's second in command. Nobody was surprised that his son had entered the Academy. Of all the Armed Forces worldwide, PPDC was a family affair.

"Cadets, fall in!" Herc roared over the noise.

They all snapped to attention and gathered around. Mako joined them.

Herc Hansen ran the briefing. "All right, noobs, this is what we're all about. Four minutes ago, the Breach spat out a Category Three Kaiju. We've named it Reaper."

A rumble went through the Cadets. Category Three Kaiju were coming more often now, and it was rare that they went down without taking at least one Jaeger with them.

"Two of our Jaeger are being deployed to intercept." Herc continued. "Look around. Do you see any chaos? Any confusion? Of course not."

The cadets looked around, and they agreed. The hallways were already clear.

"This Dome has a population of a small town. It has as much input and output as any community of six thousand people; and as much impact as any military base." Herc declared. "But this is a company town. When that alarm goes off, everyone here knows exactly where to go, what to do, and how to act. Six thousand people are locked and loaded inside two minutes."

"Where do we go?" Someone asked, uncertain.

Herc grinned. "There are twenty three people here right now." He declared. "The only twenty three people in the Dome without a Battle Station. But only four of you are going to get a Jaeger. Two more are under construction right now, but they won't be finished for another three and a half years. We're redesigning them as we build them. They'll be the only ones built to go one-on-one with a Cat-Three."

Mako glanced at Chuck Hansen then. He was the eldest. Mako was sixteen. Eighteen would get her to the Academy. She could be up for the same Jaeger spot as him. PPDC wasn't like the Marines, or the Air Force. They didn't have a strict schedule here on training. You trained until you were ready to graduate from Cadet to Dome Personnel. If you were training for a Jaeger, you trained until one was available. If you were training for Ops, you trained until you were ready to sit in front of a console. There were plenty of Cadets that would be here until a post opened for them. That's why it was so competitive.

Herc was still talking, unaware of Mako's internal monologue. "Most of you will never see a Jaeger. Nothing against you, but only the Top Two get that exalted post, and even then, only when we have a multi-billion dollar machine available. Most of you are going to get posts in the Dome." He almost smiled. "So I think it's about time you saw what happens around here when battle is joined, don't you think?"

A hum of excitement rang out from the students. Mako didn't make a sound, but felt a thrill go through her. She'd been to the Control Room many times, but she'd never been there during a full Engagement.

"We can't let you into the Control Room." Herc told them. "But those of you who  _have_  seen it know the whole room is surrounded by glass. Clear glass in front to show the Jaeger Bay, and black glass in back. That one-way glass is for Presidents, Prime Ministers, UN Officials, Royal Envoys from various countries, Top Level Brass, and anyone who breathes air  _way_  above your pay grade, so that they can observe the Best of the Best in action." Herc jerked his head. "Today, it's for Cadets as well. Fall in."

Delighted, the whole lot of them fell into step behind him and quick-marched to the Observation Room.

"Scan in." Herc commanded, and ran his card through the card reader at the door. After this long, the Cadets could do it without breaking stride. They swiped their cards as they went through the door, and the reader flashed green for all of them...

Until Mako. She didn't have clearance. She knew it when she swiped her card, but was hoping nobody would notice the green light flash red.

Except that Herc Hansen noticed everything. "Freeze. Mako, I'm sorry, but you're not a Cadet, and you're not staff. You can't be in here while we're engaging a Kaiju."

"Dad, the Marshal will vouch for her." Chuck promised, already inside. "So will I."

"This isn't about trust, it's about clearance." Herc clarified. "It's not my call." Mako was about to pick a fight on the subject when he held a hand up quickly. "And before you start the inevitable argument, Miss Mori... Dismissed."

And then he shut the door. In. Her. Face.

And Mako suddenly realized how very alone she was in the Dome.

When she was a young girl, everyone welcomed her. She was adopted by the whole Dome, not just Stacker. But now she was a Teenager, in a whole new Dome full of people who didn't know her. She wasn't the town Mascot any more. She was nobody. She wasn't staff, or student. She didn't belong with any of them.

The other recruits were her age, and some of them even liked her, once she proved how good she was. But she wasn't in their case, so she wasn't a competitor, or a compatriot; and she wasn't a teacher, so she didn't have that respect.

And most of the other recruits had come to the Dome with a partner. Most of the other recruits had a team of two people from the moment they stepped in the door.

Mako Mori stood alone.

* * *

The protests outside the Dome did not ease. In fact, they got worse. The two Marshals met to discuss the matter in Stacker's quarters.

"Real coffee." Herc said appreciatively. "It's been  _months_  since I've had any."

Stacker smirked. "I made a stop at the Hawaii Listening Post. About the only people left on those islands after the Airlift are the coffee farmers."

Herc took a deep sip. "Don't let the mob find out you have this stuff; it'll turn a protest into a lynch mob."

Pentecost was forced to admit that. "It's not dying down, which can only mean the problem isn't getting better."

"We're getting the same thing in Sydney." Herc Hansen admitted. "They think we're getting preferential treatment, because of the rationing getting tighter."

"Well, we are." Pentecost said honestly. "We get our supplies choppered in on military convoys. Civilians have to live with shipping, as it is."

"As it is? It's non-existent." Herc pointed out. "There hasn't been a cargo liner willing to ship across the Pacific since we threw the Breach Schedule out the window."

Stacker sighed. "Those people are more than angry, they have a legitimate gripe. Lots of essentials get shipped internationally. Components, parts, cars, fresh food, medicines..."

"Globalization went bad on us." Herc nodded. "Back in Australia, we grow a lot of produce, but ten years ago, we got it a lot cheaper by buying it in bulk from China. Now the prices are going back to local, and there's only so much to go around."

"Have you mentioned this to Command?"

"Repeatedly. They responded by kicking it over to the UN. The protesters are all civilians, and the UN is the civilian authority."

Stacker snorted. "Oh, good. Politicians are getting involved; I feel better already." He sipped his coffee. "What did the UN do?"

"They put themselves on the approved list to get supplies of fresh food and other supplies via our convoys." Herc said without hesitation. "They didn't announce it; but that's what they did."

Stacker let out a snort of disgust.

Herc chewed his lip. "I had thought about routing some of our supplies to the relief centres..."

"That's a politician's answer." Stacker shook his head. "It wouldn't work anyway. We've got enough to keep our people fed, and our Jaegers fighting; but just barely; and the suits want to slice our budget every time the topic comes up. We can't support whole cities, let alone the entire Pacific Rim."

"No, we can't." Herc agreed. "I've already got two Jaegers on standby that should be active, because I can't get munitions replaced."

Stacker let out a low hiss between his teeth. "Type Two or Type Four rockets?"

"Type Four."

"Then I might be able to help you." Stacker offered. "We lost one of our Jaegers in this last rumble; and it used Type Four Munitions. I can send the reloads back with you."

"That would be a help." Herc admitted. "And my condolences, by the way."

Stacker nodded acknowledgement. "In any event, that doesn't help our problem. Jaeger Jockeys are part Rock Stars, part War Heroes, but if the mob is forming at our door; we've got a bigger problem than PR."

Herc nodded. "I know. But as long as the Breach is active, we'll never get the planet fed. There's very few countries out there that can feed everyone they've got without trade. Another few years; and hunger will drive us to Anarchy, with or without the Kaiju getting through. The States are already back on breadlines, Australia's got two thirds of the population growing their own food... It's not enough."

Stacker glanced over his shoulder at the room, as though someone were listening in. "There is one idea, but I don't like it."

"I'm listening."

"The UN had this idea to replace the Market entirely. There are two kinds of civilian in the world. The ones that can't get food, and the ones that can't get a job."

Herc groaned. "You're not talking about The Wall?"

"I'm afraid I am."

"It's a waste of time."

"It is. It's also a Work For Food scheme." Pentecost sighed.

Herc nodded. "I ain't against that idea as a rule, given that starving to death is the other option. My thing is this: What happens when some empty shirt gets elected King of something and decides the Wall is actually an option that might work?"

Stacker snorted. "They'll get past that idea the second a Kaiju rips through it."

Herc gave him a look. "I wouldn't be so sure." He warned. "Building a Kaiju costs billions of dollars; using civilians to build a wall gets votes. Which do you think the suits will pick?"

"The Wall offers no protection, so it costs lives." Stacker pointed out.

"Yeah, but the politicians have a solution for that too." Herc pointed out helpfully. "They'll blame us."

* * *

Weeks passed; and construction on The Wall began. Nobody in the Dome thought it would be helpful, let alone successful; but it won the PR War, and the UN took full credit for feeding a huge volunteer workforce.

It was barter on an international scale; trading work for food; with little money being involved.

There was some argument as to whether or not it mattered, but nobody wanted to say that starvation was a better option. There was some criticism that The Wall was using up a lot of materials; but the mining industry needed to eat too.

In the Dome, lessons continued. Mako joined some of them, but found her enthusiasm waning. She knew all the theory backwards and forwards; and the practical work was off limits to her without a partner, or a uniform.

There was nothing more she could learn in those classes.

She had shared these thoughts with Stacker.

* * *

"You're not wrong." Stacker agreed. "For the most part, girls your age are specializing in their education; preparing for the workforce." He let out a breath between his teeth. "Not that there's much of a workforce out there any more."

"I know what my chosen profession is." Mako told him, inviting him to say something on the matter.

Pentecost said nothing.

Mako pushed it a little. "Of course; half the cadet class that's here in training? Most of them showed up with a partner. But some didn't. Everyone assumes Chuck Hansen would partner with his father. I could talk to one of them and see..."

"No." Stacker told her instantly. "There's nobody down there worth your time. You need a partner than can keep up with you and rein you in at the same time." He reached into his desk and pulled out a folder. "But, you aren't wrong about needing something more... official here."

Mako hadn't heard a word he said since he said 'no'. "But-"

"Mako, use your discretion with this information." Stacker told her. "The Canada Dome is going to be covering Command and Control during all Breaches on the western seaboard for the next few months."

Mako blinked. "Why?"

"There's an upgrade to the communication systems for the Alaska Dome in progress, so they need us as temporary Command and Control. And the UN is using it as a trial run."

"A trial run for what?"

"For me." Stacker explained. "I'm going to be named Region Marshal."

Mako looked up sharply. "That would give you command over every Done in the States. Or are they transferring you to the Asian Pacific Theatre?"

"No, they're keeping me here." Stacker nodded. "But my workload will jump by about a thousand percent. I will need to appoint a staff. Hansen will be our Australasia Liaison, I'll have department heads... and I'll need a personal assistant." He would have been smiling, if he ever smiled any more. "It would get you in every door that opens for me. No more locked doors."

The idea held a certain appeal, but Mako felt a thrill of horror go through her. "Are you benching me?" She asked quietly.

Pentecost seemed surprised by the question. "Benching you?"

Mako pointed at the door, gesturing at the entire Dome. "The Cadets are terrified of desk jobs. When you get a desk, or a clipboard, you never get combat. When Tasmin was benched; they promoted her. When you refused to take another partner, they promoted you. You deserve it; but..." She bit her lip. "Making me your assistant would be a massive promotion. But if it means I have to give up the Jaeger Program..."

"I promised you once that you would get your chance." Stacker said seriously. "I meant that. But there's only so far you can go alone at sixteen."

Long silence. Mako fought with herself for a lifetime; and finally said the thought aloud. "You could be my partner."

Stacker gave her a look of disgusted shock. "My God, Mako."

Mako felt her eyes bug out when she realized what it must have sounded like and back-pedalled. "No! Not..." She squeezed her eyes shut a moment and fought for words. "I loved Tasmin too. Not like you did. There's  _nobody_ who feels her loss as deep as you do. I ask, because... Tasmin asked me, who would I trust enough? Who would I know well enough... She was asking who did I love more than anyone in the world? Because that's what's needed, isn't it?"

Pentecost looked around briefly, even in his private rooms. he always did, whenever he was about to soften that steel game face of his. After the glance, he relaxed and gave her an almost-smile. "Mako..."

"We've fought together before. You trained me." Mako insisted, her words shifting into Japanese. "Herc Hansen and his son are going to be a team. I understand why you refused to take another partner after Tasmin got sick, but if you'll accept nobody else as my partner, we'd almost certainly be a good match, wouldn't we?" He didn't answer for a moment, and she pushed it, her voice small and almost scared. "Wouldn't we... father?"

Fragile silence.

"Yes." He admitted. "But..."

Mako leaned back, hurt. "But you don't want to." She breathed. Tasmin's voice came back to her then, warning that the softer, gentler side of her father would die with her that day...

_But not the side that loves me._ Mako clung to that promise. "You don't trust me enough to let me in?"

"I do." He promised her swiftly... and his nose started bleeding.

Mako saw it, and her stomach dropped through the floorboards. "...no."

Pentecost put a hand to his nose and sighed, pulling out his handkerchief. "I didn't want to tell you."

Mako was trying not to throw up. "All this time, I thought you took the Marshal Rank because you didn't want to replace Tasmin."

"Radiation scarring... inside. I'll never see a Jaeger again." He looked at her firmly. "I have to believe that you can still fight them, even as flesh and blood alone. If I can, so can you."

She couldn't take her eyes off the drops of blood. It was happening all over again. She was losing everything, all over again. The Kaiju war had taken even her adopted family away from her. She stepped forward and put her face into his chest, wrapping him up in a tight hug. "I won't ask any more." She promised him instantly. "I won't ask you for it. I'm sorry! I'll never push again, I swear. I won't ask again."

He hugged her back. "Mako..."

She was clinging to him. "Please!" She croaked. "I won't ask again. I promise. I won't push for it. I'll... I'll be your assistant! I'll take care of you, I promise!" She would have promised him anything, as though not seeking to become a Pilot would somehow heal his radiation sickness.

"Your time will come, Mako. I promise." He whispered, still holding one hand to his nose, even as he held her too. "But not with me."

Mako sniffed, and croaked out the question. "...how long?"

He sighed as the nosebleed stopped. "I have... another ten years. But it doesn't matter,"

"How can it not?!"

"Because the Events are accelerating. Ten years is longer than any of us have."

Mako looked down, conceding the point.

"Killing Kaiju and you. These are the only things I have left in my universe." He told her. "And at the moment, that's all you have in your life too." He rested his hands on her shoulders. "There will come a time, daughter. There will come a moment when you will be ready; and it will be the worst day of my life, and I will send you out to the Miracle Mile. If I do manage to get over it, and put you in a Jaeger, I need to make damn sure that whoever's out there with you is someone that can do what I've never been able to, and replace what the monsters tore out of your soul."

Mako shivered. "I did a search of my own once; looking up 'compatible personality types'?" She sighed. "All I found were dating sites. People only want compatibility for a happy ending. I want one for a war."

Pentecost almost smiled. "I know what you mean."

Mako looked frustrated with herself. "My father was very traditional. He believed that Jaeger pilots were true soul mates, bound together generation after generation, destined to find each other as they reincarnate; and unable to exist properly without finding each other. That neither pilot could be a complete person without the other one. How selfish is it, to think that I could actually find someone like that at sixteen, someone who is  _literally_  the other half of me, and then expect us both to charge down a Kaiju?"

Pentecost was still almost smiling. "Daughter, if there is a perfect other half for you out there, they'd be dedicated to the charge, with or without you. Because I'm not just keeping you here until you've found a willing partner; I'm looking for your other half. No siblings. No parents left, except for me, and I'm not able. You need to find someone outside your own life. And I'm under no illusions: If he or she's not a relative, then  _they'r_ e your soul mate; in the truest sense of the term as your father knew it."

Mako forced her face into a smile, but she didn't feel it. Stacker made his face smile, but she could tell it was fake.

The alarms went off suddenly.

**"BREACH ACTIVITY! REPEAT! ACTIVITY AT THE BREACH! ALL HANDS, BATTLE STATIONS!"**

Pentecost was already moving. He didn't say anything else. There was nothing else to say. He had to cover the entire Western Seaboard now; the alarms would come more frequently. The Kaiju could be heading anywhere from Alaska to San Diego. Mako let him go. She was still the only one on the base without a battle station.

* * *

Gypsy Danger was destroyed that night.

* * *

She had lost him.

She pushed that thought away as quickly as she could, and as often as it had come up. But it kept come back. She had lost him, as sure as he'd lost Tasmin.

The Dojo revealed all, and Mako knew the second she went into the routine that she wasn't going to handle it. She actually tripped over her own feet.

The Dojo wasn't going to do it. She was too... emotional. The thought disgusted her. Since she was a little girl, the first thing Tasmin had drilled into her was that she needed control.

The Gym was where she exorcised her demons. But now that wasn't good enough. Onibaba was a Category One. One of the first Kaiju. It was a baby, compared to some of the things that were slithering out of the ocean now.

But Onibaba had killed her parents, her siblings... And it had killed Tasmin. And it had killed Pentecost.

Her mortal fear at losing Pentecost transformed instantly. It wasn't fear that made her lose control. It was hate. She  _hated_  Onibaba. Of all the Kaiju that she wanted to exterminate, of all the wretched monsters that she was driven to butcher, the one she hated most had been dead for years already. And yet, it was still killing people she loved, and doing it slow and painful. Onibaba's claws were reaching from the grave and destroying her life all over again.

The Dojo wasn't going to do it. She didn't want to hone her mind and focus her centre. She wanted to kill something.

Instead, she went to the Simulator.

She wasn't on the approved list, but she knew ways around that. She wasn't being impatient. She was never going to be part of the Jager Program now. The Simulator was all she was going to get. She fit the headset, the harness, the gloves... She did it all without thinking.

And then she reached the scenario list. The simulator was extremely customisable. She could simulate fighting underwater near the Breach, in a city, on the coast... She could pick any Jaeger, any Kaiju, or randomize a new one.

Random was not her way. She knew what she wanted.

She set the simulator to put her in Tokyo. She set herself up in Coyote Tango. And the Kaiju she chose to fight was Onibaba.

"I will never get my chance to kill you." She said simply. "And a promise prevents me from ever facing your kin." Her teeth bared. "You are the lucky one, Hell-Thing. I hate you, but I love my father more."

_But I have this_. She finished silently, and began the simulation.

Onibaba was dead in thirty five seconds. A new simulator record. She reset the sim, and dialled up the difficulty. She killed Onibaba in forty seconds. She did it again. Onibaba lasted almost a minute.

She did it again. Again.

_Die, you monster; suffer and die, and let me dismember you; and then let me do it all over again. I'll bring you back over and over and kill you over and over! I hate you! I hate you!_

Almost manic, she tore Onibaba limb from clawed limb, over and over. It wasn't tactical, it was visceral. Mako was almost Drifting with herself. Her mind had melted away, and lost itself in the frenzy of blow and counter-blow.

_Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You!_

Onibaba fell, once again; and the Simulation ended. Mako was about to hit the reset, when she became aware of people shouting and cheering. She lifted the headset, and discovered she had an audience. The other recruits, some of the staff, a few of the pilots...

And then she'd noticed the screen behind her.

**15-0.**

She honestly hadn't noticed it, but she'd run the simulation over a dozen times, and the computer made it harder every round... and she'd never lost.

"Is..." She wasn't sure how to ask. "Is that number right?"

About a dozen people assured her it was, and with a cold, brilliant smile, Mako ran the simulation again. And again. And again.

**18-0.**

It was almost unprecedented. She'd started on a beginner setting, but by now, she was well into the professional standings. The scoreboard only allowed for recruits, but everyone could see the numbers. Having zero losses put her unnaturally high in the rankings.

"Again!" Mako declared, and her audience cheered.

**20-0.**

"Again!" Mako declared, and her audience cheered.

But the simulation wouldn't restart. Mako pulled the headset off and checked it. So did a few of the more experienced students.

Chuck Hansen put it together first. "She's at the Pro-Levels!" He declared to the room with a shark-like grin. "The computer won't let her go any higher!"

The audience whooped at the news, but Mako snatched the headset back. "Put your code in!" She told Chuck. "Do it now!"

Chuck hesitated. "I... Mako, you don't do that. I mean, there's a reason why you don't get to go any harder. Level Twenty is the Feedback Level. You dial it up any harder and you can do damage to yourself."

"I can handle it!" Mako insisted. "Put your code in."

The room dropped to a hush, waiting to see what happened next.

Chuck hesitated. "I can't do that."

Mako deflated, and turned to the computer. There was a prompt on the screen, waiting for an access code. After a moment, she stepped forward, and tapped in a code herself. It was almost twenty digits long.

****Marshal Stacker Pentecost**** **:**   _ _Code Confirmed.__

A chorus of cat-calls rang out, and Mako caught a glimpse of Chuck's face going pale. He bit his lip and ran for the door, as she pulled the headset back on.

* * *

_Onibaba stalked through the streets of Tokyo City. Coyote Tango was waiting. Just as she remembered, Onibaba was tearing down buildings when she deployed. It didn't wait for her. It charged._

_Mako was more than willing to meet it halfway, powering down the streets. She was kicking cars out of her way, unconcerned with them..._

_And then they collided._

_They'd done it before in the previous sims, but Mako was at the Feedback level now. She could almost feel the spark jump from the headset to her brain, and suddenly the air exploded from her lungs. Onibaba had slammed into her, and it felt like a linebacker had speared into her stomach._

_The Kaiju roared, as Coyote Tango was bent double over it's horns. Mako sank her steel fingers into its body, getting a good grip. Onibaba writhed, trying to get free._

_But Coyote Tango wasn't trying to lift it, it was getting it's fingers in deep enough to tear the huge body apart. Mako heaved with all her strength, feeling the creatures bones twist..._

__Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You-Hate-You!_ _

_And then she howled as Onibaba sank it's teeth into her forearm. Mako shouted again as it's teeth ground against her. Feedback mode made it suddenly become so terrifyingly real. She wasn't being injured. A holographic creature couldn't make her bleed; but the pain was real. The same feedback that let her stand in for the Steel Samurai meant she was all in._

_The pain made her lose focus for a second, and Onibaba was quick to take advantage. It smashed Coyote Tango hard, sending her sprawling against a skyscraper, which toppled under the impact._

_Mako tried to stand up, but Onibaba was on her already. Coyote Tango opened up with all the cannons and rocket launchers it had, but the bulk of the creature was on her, holding her down._

_Mako grit her teeth against the sudden agony that lanced through her. Rage came to meet the pain instantly. "You're not going to take me too!" She raged against it, going completely berserk, thrashing and screaming..._

* * *

She was still thrashing and screaming, even after the simulator shut down suddenly. Mako was in the zone so deeply that she kept fighting against monsters that weren't there for a full ten seconds before she came out of herself. When her eyes refocused, she looked back to the control room, and found Pentecost with his hand on the power switch.

Instantly, she transformed from a stone cold death dealer to a little girl with her hand caught in the cookie jar. "I... I was..."

Pentecost looked over at the rest of the enthralled room. "Out."

They crowd almost sprinted for the door.

Once they were alone, he whirled on her. "Going into a Feedback Simulator alone? You know how crazy that is?"

"I don't need a Drift partner for the simulator." She said, as thought that was the point.

He just looked at her.

"You never said I couldn't." She blurted out. "Besides, I'm sixteen. Aren't I supposed to be doing crazy things to turn your hair gray?"

"Doing something crazy like a normal teenage girl would be staying out late at a drunken party, or dying your hair blue." He looked sickly at her. "There's only one reason you go into a simulator. And that's to simulate combat against Kaiju."

"That can't surprise you." She scorned. "Why do I have to fight you too?!"

"Damnit Mako, we just lost a pilot; and I come down here to see you going feral against..." He suddenly ran out of words. "You're my daughter."

Mako felt her blood boil. "I've already agreed to be your assistant! The Sim is as close as I'll ever get! A day ago, I knew you hated the idea of sending your daughter into the fight. A day ago, I would have had to choose whether to be your daughter or a Steel Samurai! Which do you think I would have picked?!"

Pentecost pulled back then, and she wished instantly she could take back the words she had spoken in her rage. The look on his face was something truly different. Something nobody had ever seen before.

He was  _ _hurt__.

* * *

"Mind if I join you?"

Mako looked up, shaken out of her thoughts. Chuck Hansen was standing, with his tray in his hand. It was far too late for Dinner, but she supposed neither of them had eaten.

The Dome was pretty quiet, especially for the Mess Hall. They'd lost a Jaeger; and a pilot, which usually made things muted for a few days. Truthfully, she'd barely noticed, a million miles away.

Chuck sat down without her saying anything. "Did I get you in trouble?"

Mako shook her head, staring at her untouched tray. "Not nearly as much as I got myself into."

"Mako, you're amazing; but you're reckless." Chuck began. "If I hadn't..."

Mako stopped him. "You did the right thing." She said softly. "It doesn't matter. I... I won't be coming back to classes any more."

"The Old Man kick you out?" Chuck seemed truly stunned.

"Worse. He promoted me." Mako said morosely.

Long silence.

"You hear about Gypsy Danger?"

"I heard one of the pilots might survive." Mako offered.

Chuck glanced over his shoulder. "He'd be better off if he didn't."

"He would." Mako agreed. She picked up her fork but didn't use it. She still preferred chopsticks, even after this long. "I screwed up." She said quietly.

Chuck nodded. "We all do it. You're sixteen. If my dad can forgive me for it, Pentecost will forgive you." He toasted her with his forkful of food. "Mako, if we're ever going to take a moment to be crazy and stupid and rebellious, it's now. God knows we can't do it once we're piloting Jaegers."

Mako suddenly felt sick. She'd never done anything... wild. She'd poured her whole soul into training for a job tat she'd promised never to ask for. She'd never gone out and gotten drunk, she'd never snuck out to a concert, or gone shopping for clothes and shoes... She'd never in her life done anything that didn't help her on her Grand Crusade.

"Drinking age in Australia is eighteen, right?" Mako heard her voice say.

"Yep." Chuck agreed.

"In the USA, it's twenty one." Mako said without letting herself think about it. "Eighteen here in Canada, too." She put her fork down. "Let's go."

* * *

Mako Mori went out and got drunk with Chuck Hansen that night. The first time she had ever left the base without Pentecost, the first time she had ever tried her hand at drinking. Chuck snuck her back into her room without being seen, and she never told anyone who had bought the beer for her.

When Stacker went to see her the next morning, he discovered her, hungover, throwing up... and somewhere during the night, she had died her hair bright blue.

Stacker had held her almost fluorescent hair back patiently while she up-chucked the entire night's excursions. She rolled her head back enough to apologize for snapping at him the night before. Stacker forgave her, of course; and Mako went right back to throwing up again.

A day later, Mako looked at the simulator scoreboard, and discovered that she had been added to the rankings. The first person to be on the scorecard without being in training.

The Marshal never called her 'daughter' again.


	4. Jess and Tess

When Mako Mori was eighteen, she joined the Academy.

The revelation that Stacker was sick had made her promise him that she wouldn't pursue it. She had sworn never to push for Combat again... And a week later, she knew she shouldn't have made a promise she'd never be able to keep.

Stacker never asked her about it again, but he had to know. The mortal fear of letting him down haunted her, because she knew it would happen...

The recruiting station was outside the Shatterdome. Mako had snuck out of her room before dawn and down to the Loading Bay. Even before the sun came up, the Shatterdome was a hive of activity. The dayshift and the Jaeger Pilots were all asleep, but there were still Watch Commanders, Maintenance Crews, Supply Runs to be made for everything from food to engine parts, and everything else a small city needed.

Before the sun came up, the only people in the Loading Bay were the supply truck drivers getting ready to make their runs, and the garbage truck drivers taking the combined garbage of the whole Dome to be dumped.

And beyond the doors, the open road.

"I had wondered if you were going to say goodbye before you left."

Mako spun. Herc Hansen had been waiting for her. He was standing behind the doorframe, where Mako couldn't see him, until she had walked into the bay itself.

Mako slumped, caught. Other than the Sensei, Herc Hansen was the man that Mako respected most. If Stacker was her father, then Herc was her uncle. "I... I have to." She said finally.

"I know." Hansen didn't seem at all surprised. "Six months at Basic, then you get assigned to a Dome for Training. Smart money says you'll be right back here before Pentecost goes on rotation to another base."

"Six months?" Mako challenged. "I'll do it in three."

Herc sighed. "I just bet you will." He stared at her. "You weren't even going to tell him you were leaving."

She looked down. Not often did she feel like a coward, but she did just then. "I told him I wouldn't push for it, but... I can't just be  _here_  when I could be  _there_."

"You could at least wait until tomorrow. The cake's sitting on ice for tonight."

Mako had a ghost of a smile. "Give it to the Pit Crew."

Herc snorted and called to one of the truck drivers. "Hey, Briggs? You're heading out to collect supplies for the Mess?"

"Yessir!" The driver called back.

"Give Miss Mori a ride into town." Herc commanded.

Mako was surprised, and a little touched. She quickly schooled her expression before anyone saw, but for a split second, she was smiling.

* * *

The Recruiting Office opened at nine in the morning. At 8:40, a man in a uniform came by to open up the office, and found Mako sitting on the curb outside the office door, with her backpack beside her. "Hey there."

Mako rose to her feet smoothly. "I want to enlist."

He smirked. "How old are you?"

"I turned eighteen today." She told him, already holding out her paperwork. Birth certificate, identification, transcripts, medical files.

The uniformed man unlocked the office door and switched on the lights. "Happy Birthday."

* * *

The recruits were all within a year or two of eighteen. Mako had joined up on her birthday, which made her the youngest in class. The first day was nothing but paperwork. Mako was impatient with it, but she'd lived in enough Domes to know the whole PPDC ran on triplicate.

The other recruits had to phone home to get extra paperwork, Social Security, things like that. Mako had it all with her. She'd rehearsed this so often, she almost didn't need them.

They all filled their paperwork quietly. Mako scribbled down the numbers without even looking at her documentation.

"You have those numbers committed to memory?" One of the other recruits asked in jaded awe.

Mako glanced up at her. She was young and blonde, and sitting beside her was an almost identical girl. They were clearly identical twins, though the other had longer hair, dyed black, making her look a little older. But identical twins signing up together meant they were aiming for the Jaeger program. "Yes." Mako told the blonde. "I've been waiting for this my whole life. I have everything I need memorized."

The blonde let out a low whistle. "All this paperwork, I don't know if they want to be sure I'm me, or if they're trying to convince me I'm really someone else in disguise."

Mako smirked. "It takes a lot of paperwork to buy someone's soul."

The blonde smirked grimly and held out a hand. "I'm Jess."

Mako returned the handshake. "Mako."

The other twin held a hand out too. "Tess."

Mako blinked. "Identical twins named Jess and Tess?"

The two sisters smirked grimly, having heard it all before. "Our parents were good people. Not imaginative, but good."

* * *

The Boot Camp was grueling.

Their Drill Sargent was named Sgt. Shilihu. He wasn't one of the Instructors trained by Pentecost, so he hadn't met Mako before, and she was glad for it. Nobody knew what country he was from, and nobody knew for sure how to pronounce his name. He would ask, and if you tripped over the pronunciation, he would make the whole class run the obstacle course again.

The Class of 2021 agreed he was a sadist, and named him Sgt Slaughter. A nickname he seemed to delight in.

Mako had less of a learning curve than the others. She'd been training for these trials her whole life. Their class of over a hundred and twenty nine people shrank to ninety five after the first month.

The scoreboard was all. It was a whiteboard version of the viewscreen in the Shatterdome Mess hall, and unlike the win-loss ration, this one had a series of percentages. Every physical and mental exam changed the percentages for each name. At the end of Basic Training, those scores would have a huge bearing on what department they were assigned to in the Dome.

Most of the recruits knew they'd never make Combat, and were aiming for posts as technicians, maintenance, gunners... Mako respected them, but dismissed them. They weren't competition, and they weren't like her. Even at the table full of hopeful pilots, she was off to the side; the only one without a partner.

The fact that she was ahead of them on points made them nervous. None of them knew what would happen once they made it to Stage Two. If the Commanders decided to put their top student with another recruit, then it meant a team was being broken up.

In fact, the only one that seemed eager to have Mako around was Jess. Tess was more polite than friendly, but Jess had endless enthusiasm.

* * *

"It's why we work well together." Tess had explained once, when Mako commented on the difference. "She rushes in like an out of control bowling ball, and I put the brakes on."

"I need it, too." Jess agreed brightly. "But she doesn't so much as hold me back as I drag her forward." Without noticeably pausing to take a breath, her head tilted as she studied Mako. "You've got really pretty hair."

Mako twitched. She hadn't bothered to dye it again since that stupid night, and it had since grown enough that her hair now changed from blue to black at about the halfway point in an almost perfect line. "Thank you."

"Settle a bet for me?" Jess asked sweetly. "My sister, misguided as it may be, thinks that Kiloton was the ugliest thing the Breach ever spat out, and I say it's Onibaba."

Mako gave her The Look. "This is what you make bets on?"

"Not us, our little brother." Tess put in. "He's a collector. Has a complete set of the Kaiju vs Jaeger Action Figures. He found out we were signing on, and wanted to let us take one of his action figures each." She shrugged. "I don't want Kiloton's ugly mug sitting on my beside table every night; I'd be afraid to close my eyes."

"And that makes her a wuss, because the one that will give you the willies is Onibaba, not Kiloton." Jess responded. "So. How do we judge that?"

Mako responded automatically. "Find some Kaiju-websites and check their images section. Whichever one is linked into the least is the ugliest." She paused. "And Onibaba  **is**  the ugliest; your sister is out of her mind."

Jess threw back her head and laughed.

She had no idea how it happened, but Mako suddenly found she had made a friend.

* * *

The scores were close in the lessons. They could work in teams if they wished. Teamwork was the heart of their style of combat. Mako worked solo, which was fine with her. Her score was at the top of the list. Having Jess and her sister around as study partners was surprisingly helpful.

The Drills came at odd times of day. Sometimes mid-meal, sometimes mid-class, sometimes at two in the morning. Like any training camp, their routine was very regulated; but Shatterdome Staff had to be on call 24 hours a day.

Pentecost tried to call Mako twice more during her first week. She refused both calls; and he didn't try again until the second week.

* * *

Every night, the twins sat, Jess on the bunk, and Tess cross-legged on the floor, and Jess would braid her hair elaborately, making it impossible to tangle during the night.

Every night, on the opposite bunk, Mako would sit upright on top of the blankets, one hand holding up a technical manual, her other hand sketching at a pad on her knee. Her eyes flicked back and forth between them, never slowing down.

Mako heard her phone buzz, and she winced.

_**Sensei** _ _Is Calling You._ _Receive/Refuse?_

"Mako, who is it?" Jess asked once, after Mako sent the call to voicemail. It was the third one that day. "Ex-boyfriend?"

"No." Mako said shortly.

"Well you're trying to avoid  _someone_ , and they're not giving up." Jess insisted.

"Leave her alone." Tess said lightly, as Jess brushed her hair. "If Mako doesn't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it."

Beat.

Jess set down the brush and held out her phone. "This is our family." She said brightly.

Mako looked over, surprised by the sudden jump in topic. On the screen was a family photo. The twins, an older woman, a small boy, and a bulldog puppy. "This is us, and mom, and Petey and Max. Petey is the small, fuzzy, drooling one. And Max is the dog."

Mako smirked at the joke.

"If you don't mind my saying, Mako..." Jess said brightly. "You don't seem to talk about  _your_  home very often."

Mako was already back at her textbooks. "Mm."

"Stone." Jess said, not offended. "Face made of  _stone_. Sis, remind me never to play poker with Mako Mori."

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and the next round of scores were put on the leaderboard. Mako was in first place. Jess and Tess were a close second; though they counted as a single team.

The class of ninety five were reduced to eighty, as some of the students dropped out. The whiteboard changed after every test, every pop quiz. Mako was getting a feel for the others. Jess and Tess were scoring high in physical team skills. They were going for Combat.

Mako was at the top of the list in physical challenges, Kaiju knowledge, and her engineering marks were breaking records. Slaughter made the comment that if she didn't get Combat, she'd probably be designing Jaegers one day.

In the Academy, you could apply for a position before you started, or you could wait and let them assign you to a post once you graduated. It was unusual for any military to offer options, but it was a vary particular kind of combat; the kind that no other branch could prepare you for. Choosing a post you wanted to aim for was like choosing a class to Major in. There was no guarantee you'd get what you were aiming for.

* * *

"What did you put as your backup?" Tess asked one night. Mako wasn't sure who she was talking to. Mako had the lower bunk, with Tess above her, and Jess to their left. "Mako, I mean you."

Mako looked up from her textbook. "What did I put? I didn't."

Jess looked over. "You don't have a backup?" She seemed surprised. "I put down three. At least two of them suck, but... You don't have a backup, and you're at the mercy of the bureaucrats."

Mako returned to her textbook. "I don't need a backup. I'm Combat, all the way."

Jess and her sister traded a look. "Mako..." She said gently. "That's like winning two lotteries. We want Combat too, but... You gotta play the odds."

Mako didn't even blink. "I know the math."

The subject had caused a certain awkwardness, and Tess changed the subject. "You guys hear about Gyro Thunder?"

Mako nodded. "No survivors, from what I hear. It took them, what? Almost an hour to get two more Jaegers on the scene?"

"Had to bring them from Alaska, it's amazing it only took that long." Mako commented.

"What I wanna know is why they only put one Jaeger at the California Base." Tess commented.

"The other two were destroyed." Mako said absently. "It takes a while to build new Jaegers."

"Which is kind of my point." Tess pressed. "There aren't that many war machines to go around, so you need a backup."

"I know the math." Mako repeated, unconcerned.

* * *

"Cadets, I have good news, and bad news." Sgt Slaughter reported. "The bad news, is that this branch of the Academy is being... scaled back."

Loud murmuring. Mako felt her heart give a solid thump.

Their Instructor looked quietly outraged. "The United Nations have seen fit to scale back the budget for nonessential operations." He said, as though he was reciting something he'd read.

"Nonessential? Like training new recruits?" Someone said, furious. Mako didn't see who it was, but she agreed with him.

"Don't worry." Slaughter said grimly. "The only one out of work here is me."

Stunned silence.

"That's the good news." He continued. "The decision has been made that instead of the Top Tier Cadets training in Shatterdomes, it will now be the Top Two Tiers. Which means your graduation from Boot has been moved up to next month. Top Twenty Percent will be sent to the Canada Dome for On-Site training and deployment."

Mako felt a thrill of horror go through her. She was being sent back to the Dome.

"Top Twenty Percent?" Jess whispered in her ear. "Ohmigawd! We're shoe-ins! We're going to the Dome!"

Mako plastered a smile on her face, but inside she was panicking.

* * *

She hadn't told anyone but Jess that she'd been to Shatterdomes before. Nobody knew about her connection to Stacker Pentecost at all.

She had expected to be back in six to eight months. She had expected to have her lessons and assignments within the Pilot Program set up and approved.  _Then_  she would reconcile with her father. Once her career as a Steel Samurai was assured, no matter what he thought, she would return, victorious...

But now she'd be back a lot sooner, and Stacker would be her Sensei again. After running away and joining up without even saying goodbye, she was being shipped back to face him again...

...And he'd have final say over what department she was assigned to.

* * *

Everyone was excited on the way to the Dome. Mako had shrunk into her seat like she was expecting to be punched in the head any second. Her knees were bouncing restlessly and she was wringing her hands.

"Okay, time's up and the judges are tied." Jess declared on the bus ride. "Mako:  _What_  is worrying you? You're fearless, except for today."

Tess nodded. "Normally, I wouldn't care, but I gotta admit; I'm curious. I've never seen you nervous before."

Mako was tempted to tell them. If it had just been the three of them, she might have done it. She glanced over her shoulder. The bus was taking them to the Dome. The top twenty percent of their class came to fifteen people. And four of them were listening in.

Mako gave them a tight smile. "Nervous? Me? Never."

* * *

Her nerves only got worse as they pulled into the Dome. Mako had seen it before. Everyone else was openly gaping at the huge space. The Desk Sargent met them at the Loading Dock, and directed them to the Briefing Room. He smiled broadly at Mako, who smiled back tightly.

Jess and Tess noticed the little exchange, but didn't remark on it.

The Briefing Room was as she remembered it, with a small amphitheater style classroom, with about twenty seats, and a large viewscreen at the front of the room.

The cadets all sat down, waiting for someone to show up and tell them what to do.

They didn't wait long. The door opened again, and half a dozen cadets walked in. Chuck Hansen was one of them. He looked them all over, sent Mako a nod, and sat down.

Tess sent her a look. "Why do I get the feeling you've been here before? Did you have a relative who worked here, or something?"

The door opened. "Ten-Hut."

"Something like that." Mako winced as everyone leaped to full attention.

Stacker Pentecost came into the room, and Mako could feel the silence become charged. They all knew who he was. The powerful man looked them all over, left to right. His gaze didn't so much as linger for an instant when he saw Mako. "Good morning." He intoned.

Mako felt a thrill go through her. She hadn't heard that voice in months. He hadn't changed a bit.

"You will be the first class to be judged and assigned completely in house within the Shatterdome. Make no mistake, your task just became infinitely harder. You've been following the news. Since the Jaeger Program was put into effect, there have been ninety two engagements, and ninety victories. Except for the last year, where there have been seventeen defeats. Our enemy is evolving faster than our weapons can be upgraded. It takes almost four years to build a functional Class-4 Jaeger. It takes eight minutes or less to engage a Kaiju. A loss means the death of an entire city. We respond to this by being better than we've ever been. You've never even seen a Jaeger, but you will be held to a higher standard than every warrior that has come before you, by virtue of fighting an even greater enemy. So I expect more of you than anyone ever has. I will expect you to reach that standard, because it's the standard I expect every man and woman under my command to achieve. A billion people live along the Pacific Rim, and less than  _fifty_  people stand between them and total destruction. So if by some miracle, you have it in you to make that team... then you will live a life of constant danger, full of incredible mental, emotional and physical stresses, with an eighty percent chance of dying, cold and insane, somewhere along the Miracle Mile."

He paused to let that sink in.

"However, you also get the chance to save lives." Stacker finished. "This isn't the Army. This isn't the Navy, or the Air Force, or the Marines. Those guys have no chance against the sorts of things we fight. We aren't soldiers, we're Dragon-Slayers. Monster Hunters. We're Steel Samurai. This is the Shatterdome. Welcome to the War!"

Mako saw the effect he was having on the rest of the recruits. But the Sensei hadn't even looked in her direction since he came in. Part of her was glad for it. The rest of her was afraid to face his wrath.

* * *

Pentecost generally ran the base, and left the training to his Lieutenants. Mako could feel his eyes on her from time to time, but didn't know where he was watching from.  _You should just go see him. It's not getting less awkward._

But she just didn't have the nerve to face him. He must have been furious.

If the Cadets thought that things would get any easier once they were past Boot Camp, their first day soon changed their minds. Reveille was usually at 0600. In Marshal Pentecost's Shatterdome, it was an hour earlier. Other Domes started with calisthenics and breakfast. In Pentecost's Dome, it was a Launch Drill first, then calisthenics, then breakfast, and then another Launch Drill.

* * *

Jess groaned from the effort it took to pick up an empty Mess Hall tray. "Tess, carry me."

"If I did that, who would carry me?" Tess groaned back. "Pentecost is a sadist. I know I said that about Slaughter, but he was a pussycat next to The Old Man."

Jess groaned louder. "Full drill at 0445. The sun woke up and sneered at me!" Her nose twitched. "I smell bacon and eggs."

"Oh come on." Tess yawned. "Lack of sleep is making you hallucinate." Then the scent hit her. "And me too. Eggs! Real eggs!"

Mako was ahead of them in line, flawless and full of energy. She collected a tray of her own. "Eat light." She told them. "The Marshal will probably hit you with another drill before classes start."

Her friend clutched at her tray as her eyes tripled in size. "Eat light? Do you not see this? Eggs! Chicken eggs!  _Real_ eggs, Mako! I haven't seen an actual egg in... I don't know, but I was still putting ribbons in Tess' hair. Does the Dome always eat like this?"

"Worth a 4:30 start, huh?" Chuck commented from a nearby table. Mako passed him a tray automatically, and collected another for herself. Both she and Chuck took a light breakfast.

Tess woke up enough to notice that she and Chuck were acting like they'd done this before. "You two know each other?"

Chuck blinked, and looked the question to Mako.  _You didn't tell her?_

Mako shook her head quickly, and felt the hairs on her neck stand up. She sent a quick glance back toward the door. Stacker Pentecost had just walked in. He was looking her way.

"And of course GI Joe over there looks perfect!" Tess almost whined, waving a hand at the Marshal. "He even showered and shaved. He did three extra laps on all of us, and somehow looks like he just stepped out of a movie!"

Mako looked away from her Sensei, unable to hold his gaze, even from across the room. Stacker's Aide came by and presented him with a tray of food. Stacker would usually eat with the rest of the staff. Today he just handed the tray back and left the room, going back to work.

Mako's eyes locked on the aide. She didn't recognize her.  _That's the girl that replaced me._

Mako turned back to the Mess Hall when Jess nudged her. Jess was watching her sister, who was having a conversation with Chuck. Mako couldn't hear them, but Tess had a truly hungry look on her face, blatantly checking out the younger Hansen every time he looked down at his tray.

"Who's the Torso?" Jess whispered.

Mako sighed. "His name is Chuck Hansen. His father is one of the Marshals in the Australian Program. He's still in training, but it's pretty much guaranteed he's going to get through."

"With his father as a partner?" Jess shuddered. "I'd never let my dad in my brain. But why's he eating with the newbies?"

Mako's lip curled in disgust. "He always comes to check out the new recruits. He calls it a 'target rich environment'."

Jess snorted. "High School, College, Boot Camp... There's one in every Co-Ed situation."

* * *

Mako noticed that Stacker's policy on training Cadets was similar to the way she herself had been trained when she was a girl. She could see Tasmin's impossible standards in every training schedule. She could see Stacker's hard line attitude in every class.

As when she was a girl, the training was designed to break them. Stacker made them work harder than their Drill Sargent. The physical demands of the training were nearly inhuman. But every morning, before the sun rose, Stacker Pentecost was there too. He ran the training course with them, and always beat them to the finish line by at least a few solid minutes. By the time Mako caught up with him, he wasn't even short of breath. By the time the rest of them caught up, he had already gone back to work.

Mako had been running the course her whole life. He always beat her. When she got older and her legs got longer, her time improved; but he was always waiting for her at the finish line.

But not any more. Now he just finished the course, and went back to work. She saw him every morning before dawn, and neither of them had spoken to each other.

For the first time, Mako realized the Sensei was afraid to talk to her too.

* * *

Classes began with Tendo Choi. He took the morning lesson when they discussed theory, and the other Marshals and Department Heads took over for the afternoon classes, after another series of Drills.

The screen lit up as the class sat down. "Cadets." Tendo intoned. "I'm willing to bet you can all name at least two dozen Jaeger Pilots, just off the top of your head." He tapped at his tablet. "Let me introduce you to some of them now."

Mako felt her eyes blaze as the large viewscreen gave them a clear view of Tasmin, lying in a hospital bed, nearly skeletal. A small army of doctors and nurses were working frantically around her, trying to make her heart start beating again. Mako felt sick. She hadn't been there when Tasmin died.

Mako turned to stone at the sight. She could hear the rest of the class gasping, making quiet comments to each other.

The image on screen changed, showing Herbert Taylor. He hadn't adopted any prosthesis since Mako had seen him last, still thrashing around in his Boneslum squat. Mako wasn't sure what he was doing as the video continued; but it soon became clear he was trying to kill himself with a kitchen knife, while a few people in uniforms tried to wrestle the blade away from him. Even with the missing limbs, he was wild enough to make them fight for it.

Mako hadn't seen him in years either. In fact, she'd bowed out whenever Stacker checked in on him. Part of her felt bad about that. The images continued, one after another; pilot after pilot, until Tendo had the mercy to shut them off.

Stunned silence.

Tendo spoke up. "You're wondering why I'm showing you this." He said simply. "It's because if you're going to lose your lunch and give up, we want you to do it now. In fact, we encourage you to give up now. The point of this little exercise is to remind you of one thing: If you manage to make it through all the misery we're  _eagerly_  putting you through every morning before dawn, you still have a war to win. The average life expectancy of a Jaeger Pilot is less than a year. The truly exceptional ones? They last almost three years. And for all that, the ones that die fighting are the lucky ones. Of all the pilots out there, only  _four_  have made it to retirement alive and sane."

Long silence.

And then, to the surprise of everyone, Jess stood up. "Excuse me, sir?" She said carefully. "But that's sort of true in lots of places."

Mako blinked. She hadn't heard this.

Jess kept going. "Pretty much everywhere along the Pacific Rim has been hammered at least once. Back before the Domes were ready, the only option for defense was full on nuclear. I... You won't find  _one_  family out there that hasn't lost someone. Me and Tess lost our dad and uncle. Dad held on for a few weeks too. Radiation scarring, starvation, dismemberment... It's not like people are living long healthy lives out there."

Tess rose to stand with her sister as she spoke. "That's right. We've already seen it. Suicides too. When a Kaiju hits landfall, it's like another suicide cult or batch of Kaiju worshipers pops up every other month. You think you can scare us away with madness and death? Dude,  _that's_  why we're here!"

Beat.

Mako stood up to join them. She didn't say anything. Tendo already knew what she'd say.

Chuck rose to his feet a moment later.

Then the Coleman Brothers. Mr and Mrs Harmon. Guillermo Tucker. Mario Fox. Clay Sanchez. Garrett and Petra Pittman. Elliot Juarez. Gus Kowloski. Susan Ivanov.

Until the entire class stood united, ready to keep going, no matter the cost.

* * *

Chuck was becoming a fixture at the recruits table. Mako knew him well, of course; but it was pretty clear he was there because Tess' interest in him was more than friendly.

Chuck was mostly oblivious to her interest, because Tess hadn't actually said anything to him, waiting for him to make a move. Mako was amused by the whole thing, but had a secret of her own with the younger Hansen. Jess and Tess were the first friends Mako had made without her 'father' being part of the discussion. Mako had noticed a difference in how these recruits treated her, compared to the rest of the Dome. It wasn't obvious, but the Twins were the first real friends who didn't know she was 'The Marshal's Daughter'.

Chuck was in a perfect position to torpedo that, but he hadn't. Mako was glad for it. She didn't know how it would affect their friendship, and the distance between her and Stacker had only grown colder.

_Go and see him._  She told herself for the billionth time.

Jess swept up to the table and pushed a smartphone at Mako. "Did you see this?"

Mako looked at it. "I saw it. I don't believe it."

Tess blinked. "Saw what?"

"There's a story in the New York Times, saying that the UN is going to scrap the Class-Five Program, and redirect construction funds to the Anti-Kaiju Wall." Jess read. "They say that it's time 'for the PPDC to start working for the people they're meant to be protecting, instead of feeding themselves, when there are equally viable methods to save lives'."

"The Wall? That's insane."

"More than insane, it's stupid."

Chuck was notably silent.

Tess whirled on him. "Chuck, what are you not telling us?"

Chuck sighed. "I hadn't read the story because I didn't need to." he confessed. "My dad told me the same thing three days ago."

Stunned silence.

"They want to shut us down?"

"No, they want to make noise about taking money away." Chuck told them. "It's an election year, and the hot topic is the food shortages. If they give us money, they don't spend it on food. If they take money away from us and put it into the damn Wall, then they get to hand out food to hungry people and save a lot of cash for themselves. You can promise people anything if you've got the money to back it up."

"Do they honestly think the Wall is going to do anything?" Jess scorned.

"It can win them an election, that's all they care about." Chuck shook his head. "Just empty suits."

"What does that mean for us?" Jess demanded.

"It means Striker Eureka will be the only one of its kind once it's finished." Mako sighed. "It means they're going to be cutting back on new Steel Samurai."

"It means the stakes just raised." Chuck told them grimly. "I mean, I've been here for two rotations now. My scores are good enough that they can't place me anywhere else, but there's no spare Jaegers waiting for me. I've been in limbo for two years."

Long silence.

"Two years, and my sister and I are kicking your ass on the scoreboard after six months?" Tess said finally.

"By a tenth of a percent." Chuck shot back instantly.

The tension was broken, more or less, and conversation continued.

"When I was a little kid, top ten qualified for a Jaeger." Mako said quietly to Chuck. "Now it's top five. After this, it'll be top three."

"What are you worried about? You're top of the list." Chuck whispered back.

"Did I say I was worried?" Mako hissed quietly.

Chuck glanced at the Twins and answered. "Are we whispering because you can't talk about your childhood in front of other people without them asking about The Old Man?"

Mako leaned away from him, making a face. She hated that Chuck had known her for so long.

* * *

"I'm worried about Mako." Jess told her sister one night.

Tess was sitting in front of Tess, getting her hair braided. "Really? Why?"

"She hasn't put down any backups, she doesn't have a partner, and she's so obsessed with becoming a pilot..."

"You're worried she'll burnout?"

"I am." Jess nodded.

Tess sighed, as her brother picked up a hairbrush. "Well, we've both tried easing her into reality. Any new ideas?"

Jess licked her lips. "We could help her out."

"You remember she's the competition, right?" Tess pointed out.

"She's helped us with how much?" Jess shot back. "She's our girl. Plus, I honestly think if she doesn't get a Jaeger, she'll go a little insane. And by 'a little', I mean 'a lot'. And by 'a lot' I mean 'completely whackadoo."

Tess sighed. "You're probably right. Okay... We can't fund a dozen new Jaegers. We can't improve her grades any, because she's already top of the scoreboard..."

"We could find her a partner." Jess said with silky menace.

Tess leaped up, bouncing away from her twin's hairbrush. "Oh, I KNEW IT! I  _knew_  you were going to go there! Jess, have you learned  _nothing_  from the other friends you've tried to set up on dates?"

"I only picked wrong  _one_  time!" Jess insisted. "And if he'd just gone along with it, they'd probably been married by now."

"Yes, but instead he needed to get a restraining order. You were forbidden by the Sheriff, and by  _mom_  to ever set up a friend on a date again." Tess' eyes narrowed. "And so help me, sis: If the guy you have in mind is  _Chuck_..."

Just then, Mako came in and both twins fell silent in their near-telepathic unison. She gave them both a nod, and went over to her bunk.

Jess smiled at Tess.  _I'm gonna do it._

Tess shook her head slightly.  _No._

Jess smiled broader.  _Yep._

Tess shook her head harder.  _No._

"You know, Mako..." Jess said aloud. "I hear recruits with partners pre-approved have a much higher rate of acceptance."

Mako nodded. She felt a knife's edge of fear whenever the subject came up. "So I hear."

"We should get you a partner." Jess said sagely. "Otherwise they'll pick one for you, you know."

Tess swatted her sister hard. "Excuse Jess. She's got this thing about setting up people she doesn't know on dates."

Mako tried to smile, but the whole subject made her a little uncomfortable.

Jess was oblivious to the tension. "I'm quite serious." She said. "It's a competitive business. I've got you, sis. But you've seen Mako's scores. Who would you rather have watching our six when we're a mile out in the ocean? Chuck?"

Tess smirked. "I wouldn't mind. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can feel him watching my six every time I walk in front of him."

The three girls broke into laughter.

Jess returned her attention to Mako. "So. You got any siblings? Ones you get on with at least?"

Mako felt a spike go through her. "No. No family." She looked around again. "Um... in fact, I haven't spoken to my father in months."

Jess noticed the reaction and blew right past it. "Hm. Old boyfriend? Even a two-night-stand? You don't strike me as the type to go for slow and fat; so there's probably a potential Samurai somewhere in your contact list."

Mako looked down. "No, no boyfriends."

Tess glanced over. "Really?" She reached out and plucked at Mako's bangs. "I figure anyone with blue highlights would have at least one wild night to talk about."

Mako shrugged, trying to make light of it. "I grew up in Shatterdomes. Not much chance to date."

Tess looked over, eyes calculating. "Really? Army brat, huh?"

"Something like that." Mako blew right by it. "I was years older than the kids in the school, and years younger than the recruits. I never... well,  _ever_."

That got both their attention. "Really?" Jess was surprised. She looked at Tess. "Sis, we gotta get this girl laid."

Mako choked on her own tongue. "I...  _#koffkoff#_  I don't think-"

"The Mixer!" Jess interrupted, excited. "The Sadie Hawkins Dance!"

"Good grief, they have that at the Dome?" Tess was too surprised to argue for once. "The ratio of female cadets to male is like three to one!"

"Exactly!" Jess beamed. "Mako could have her pick! Besides, I think they're bringing in some people from the Air Force Academy to make up the numbers..."

Mako looked awkward about it. "I... I don't think I even own a dress."

That only seemed to spur Jess on. "Excellent!" She almost hissed in delight. A moment later, she jumped up and headed for her locker. "Be right back! I've got to get my ration book! We're going shopping!"

Tess leaned in closer to Mako. "I'm sorry about this. When we were kids, she blew all her Rations on outfits for her Barbie Dolls, so I took the dolls off her. She hears the word 'party' and 'dress' and her brain switches off."

Mako groaned. "I can't even dance."

"I've seen you on the agility drills, kid. You can dance just fine with footwork like that." Tess promised her.

Mako sighed.

"Listen, not for nothing, but Jess isn't totally insane. I mean, she is; but she's not wrong. The Jaeger Program isn't for the stoic, independent type. You want to handle everything on your own, that's fine, but... At some point, you'll be paired up with someone, and probably someone at the Dome. If you don't pick a partner, the Marshal will. Would you trust Marshal Pentecost with picking someone to climb inside your head?"

Mako shivered violently. "You have no idea."

* * *

Jess had dragged Mako through every department store in Anchorage. Between both sisters and Mako, they had enough ration cards to actually have a small spree.

Mako had been poked and prodded by Medics, surgeons, customs agents and combat security across three continents. Jess was the most...  _thorough_  of all of them. It took them an entire day, but eventually, the pair returned to the Dome.

Tess was the first one to see the new look. Mako's hair had been done, her nails painted, hand and foot, makeup was applied for the first time in her life and Jess had overruled her every choice on the subject of clothing. Mako was wearing the first party dress she ever owned. It was a blue dress, knee length, but with a split that went almost to her hip. It was Asian style, somewhere between a miniskirt and a Kimono. Her shoulders were bare, and every curve was flaunted carefully. On her feet were sandals, three inch spikes and the shoe completely open, held in place by a thin gold strap that wrapped around the bridge of her foot, and wound up her curve of her calves.

Tess let out a low whistle.

Jess stepped back as though presenting a work of art. "So?"

"She looks too good for anyone that'll be there tonight." Tess offered.

Jess giggled. "Exactly what I was going for."

Tess watched her go and quietly stepped over for a private word. "Okay, Shatterdome Barbie, how bad was it?"

Mako looked emotionally exhausted. "She picked out my  _underwear_  for me." Mako winced. "Do other women usually wear strapless bras? I could feel them tearing holes in my ribcage."

"Could?" Tess repeated. "Past tense?"

Mako glanced after Jess. "Don't tell her, but I can barely breathe in the dress. I ditched that medieval torture device while she wasn't looking."

"The dress is tight enough she can probably tell." Tess smirked. "Look, I know Typhoon Jess is hard to say 'no' to, but are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Mako sighed. "I'm in a dress. I haven't worn a dress since I was a little girl. I feel so... obvious. I feel like I'm wearing a neon sign that says 'look at me!'."

"Well, that's sort of the effect she was going for." Tess offered.

"Which would be fine if I didn't feel so ridiculous."

"It's the shoes, right?"

Mako wobbled a little. "Never worn spike heels before either."

"Shows off your legs." Tess offered. "In a good way."

Mako looked down, posing a little, despite herself. "You think?"

"It's all that sprinting you do on the Obstacle Course. Always go with your best feature." Tess nodded. "It was either going to be your legs or your ass, and we both know that's  _my_  best feature."

Mako shuddered. "How did I let you your sister talk me into this?"

Tess took Mako's freshly manicured hands in her own and looked deep in her eyes. "Listen to me. If you're not comfortable with this, then we can call it off. If you're doing this to make Jess happy, then you can  _call it off._ "

Mako bit her lip. "Tess, you said yourself that I can't be the stoic and independent type much longer. I have to get out there eventually."

Tess' face hardened. "If you're doing this because of the damn Kaiju, then forget it. Forget what Jess was yapping about ex-boyfriends and Two Night Stands. Sleeping with someone doesn't make them a good Co-Pilot. Or even a good  _date_ , come to that." Tess reached out and lifted Mako's chin. "Hey. I'm serious. You're obsessed with getting into the fight, and that makes you the best in the Dome. It also makes you... neglect yourself. You skip sleep, you skip meals... You ignore what's good for you, Mako. Take some advice from a girl that's been there: If you're going to do anything for the right reasons, it has to be  _this_."

Heavy silence.

"Mako, you know I love you, right?" Tess told her. "I know I always treat Jess like a little sister, but the fact is there's only twenty minutes difference between us. Let me give you some 'big sister' advice."

Mako nodded.

"What you're looking for in the Program is total compatibility. What you're looking for on the Dance Floor is a first dance. They're  _not_  the same thing. You need someone who thinks like you do. What makes you think you'll find it that the last place you'd ever go?"

Mako sighed. "Because I haven't found it anywhere else."

Silence.

"I'm nineteen." Mako said softly. "I've never been kissed, never even held hands. I barely know what a civilian  _is_ , and for most of my life, the only difference between boys and girls was which dorm they slept in. I learned about the 'facts of life' from seminars on how  _Kaiju_  might reproduce given the chance; and I've chosen a crusade that depends totally on finding a scientifically proven, Command Approved  _Soul Mate_."

Tess smirked. "I agree, you're behind the curve." She admitted. "I read somewhere that most families started these days are having their second or third kid by twenty. Ration cards. You get one to every mouth, but you can keep a newborn baby fed for the first year on milk alone. If supplies are tight, have another kid and keep your head above water for another year."

"Populate or Perish." Mako nodded at the familiar slogan. "Look, I'm not an idiot. I know I'm not likely to meet my perfect partner tonight. And for all the talk about the Co-Pilots that aren't related being perfect couples? Who's to say that I'm looking for a guy? You said yourself, sleeping with someone doesn't make a Co-Pilot. It doesn't have to be a guy, or even someone I'd be interested in."

Tess nodded. "Very true. I'll be honest with you, Mako. Part of me worried that Command would split up me and Jess; give the higher scoring Twin to you as a partner."

Mako blinked. "You think?"

"Before we got here? I was convinced they'd do that." Tess nodded. "You're like me. You reign her in. And your scores... jeez, you break records. They're not going to bounce you." Tess gave her a serious look. "They  _won't_  kick you out."

"The Marshal might ask me to resign." Mako whispered.

Tess was surprised. "Why would he do that?"

Mako licked her lips. "Tess, there's something I haven't told you." She said quietly. "About... I mean, you've probably figured out most of my story."

"We know you grew up in the Domes." Tess nodded.

"Right, but what I didn't tell you was how I got such a... 'Marshal's Pet' reputation with the others."

Tess was about to say something when Jess came back in like a hurricane with half a wardrobe over her shoulders. "Okay, sis. We've got Mako set up; it's our turn now!"

* * *

The Sadie Hawkins Dance was an old tradition in many places in America. It flipped the rules on most dances, by having the women choose a date for the evening instead of the men. A lot of people thought it was an outdated tradition, as women were much more active in picking up a date in modern times.

But the PPDC was begun by merging several combat units, and the military was all about its traditions.

The Alaska Base had several common rooms, most of them too small. But The Recruits were closing in on the end of their first elimination round, and none of them knew for sure if they would make it to the second round, no matter what their scores said. As a result, there was a lot of tension in classes, and the instructors made an effort to let them have a party.

It also meant that the party was chaperoned by Dome Staff. Including their instructors. Mako understood the reasons. In Alaska, the drinking age was twenty one. Most of the newer recruits, herself included, were under twenty.

The three of them arrived at the Dance, and took a moment to take it in. The Viewing Room, with its view of the hangar, had been converted into a ballroom.

"I still can't believe how big this room is." Jess commented, excited.

"They used it for showing off to dignitaries, private investors, things like that." Mako explained, still trying to get used to her heels. "They held a lot of functions in here, back when the Dome started up."

"Is that Mako?" A stunned voice asked dramatically.

The trio turned to see Chuck Hansen, dressed in a sharp tuxedo.

"You girls did a hell of a job." Chuck said approvingly. "First time The Marshal's... Pet has ever shown up to one of these things."

Mako noted the barely perceptible pause. He'd stopped just short of calling her 'The Marshal's Daughter'.  _Is he teasing the information, or warning me that Sensei will be here tonight?_  She put that thought away instantly.  _Stacker never comes to these things._

"Mako, I can feel your muscles twisting into knots from here." Jess commented. "The point of tonight is to loosen up."

"Get a few drinks in her." Chuck commented with a smirk.

Mako pointed. "Don't you dare!"

"Dare what?" Jess pounced.

Chuck grinned and gave them half the whole story. "Mako's only ever gone wild once in her life. The result was bright blue hair." He explained. "I was her designated driver. I bought her drinks, The Old Man held her hair while she puked, and we agreed never to speak of it again."

Tess snorted a laugh, despite herself.

"And to his credit, he didn't speak of it again until just now, when he finally met someone who hadn't already heard the story." Mako said though a gritted smile.

"Well, not much chance of that happening again tonight." Chuck offered. "The Instructors have the place under their Eagle Eyes."

This was true. Tess looked around casually and their Class Instructors were all present. Stationed at the door, at the bathrooms, at the food table, the bar...

"Well..." Jess drawled, picking up a small stack of plastic drink cups from the food table. "If there was somewhere a little more  _private_ , we could probably help with that."

Chuck and Mako traded a pointed look.

Mako was happy enough to get away from the rest of the crowd, a lot of which were checking her out. "The Booths. There is a corridor with three or four private rooms for video conferencing. This place was meant for visiting dignitaries after all."

* * *

They made their way out of the main room, away from prying eyes, and into a corridor. There were four rooms on one side of this corridor. Jess chose the second, and they all moved into a small room with a large touchscreen, and a low table. Only one chair, and not much room; but the four of them crammed in.

"We'll have to make it quick and get back before someone wonders where we went." Jess told them. We're the top four, which makes us Rock Stars. Someone's going to notice if we don't show up."

And from her shoulder strap bag, Jess produced two water bottles, the same kind used in the gym by everyone.

"How'd you fit two of those in there?" Tess asked, despite herself.

"Simple. I crammed all my lipstick, money, ID and assorted other things into  _your_  purse."

Tess snorted and started passing out the cups.

Chuck was looking at the bottles. "What's in them?"

Jess poured Mako a drink. "There's a guy just over the border, where we're all legal. He lost his job as a bartender when the world went to crap, so he started supporting himself as a bootlegger. His homebrew is pretty wild."

"I can't believe you actually snuck booze over the border." Mako deadpanned.

"And I can't believe they got you to go out in public wearing that dress." Chuck retorted, holding out his cup for Tess to fill. "But it seems to be that sort of night."

Mako looked into her own cup and shrugged. "I had to get out and about at some point."

Chuck sipped his drink and gave Mako a sharp look. "Tell me you aren't here trolling for a Drift Partner."

"I've already had 'The Talk' with her." Tess promised him seriously.

Chuck shrugged. "I just figured they'd pair you with me."

Mako let out a bark of laughter before she could stop herself.

Chuck just looked at her. "I'm going to assume that little cackle was about something else?"

Mako immediately realized she had insulted him and tried to backpedal. "No, not that... I mean, it's not that I find the idea of having you as a partner  _laughable_ , it's just that..." Mako spun. "Would you top up my drink, please?"

Jess giggled and did so.

"Be careful with that. You've never seen Mako drink." Chuck commented lightly. "She has the tolerance of a four year old."

"Really?" Jess hesitated, still holding the bottle.

Mako took a big sip to fortify herself and turned back to Chuck. "Look, you're good at what you do, Chuck... But remember the dojo?"

Chuck rolled his eyes. "It's been how many years, and you're gonna bring that up? I've been in training here, you know."

"What happened in the Dojo?" Tess asked.

"Don't ask." Chuck responded instantly, and Tess topped off his cup.

There was a moment of silence as everyone drank.

"So." Tess commented to him quietly. "What say we have another drink and cut the kids loose?"

That was blatant enough a suggestion, even for Chuck to get the point. "Sounds like a plan."

Tess lifted her own cup to him and toasted. "Here's mud in your eye!"

"Cheers!" Mako sighed and slugged back a third of her beer in two gulps.

"Hey, you should sip that if you're not used to it." Jess told her friend.

"Ohh, can't risk that." Mako shook her head. "We're not supposed to have beers  _at all_  in here, and the party is in there!" She threw back the drink enough to scull down another third of the cup. "This is actually pretty tasty!" She said. And then hiccuped.

Chuck threw back his drink too. "So. What n-now?" He let out a whistle and looked at his cup. "Whoa. Let me know where that bartender of yours is sometime?"

"That can be our second date." Tess promised.

"Um, sis? Can I have a word with you?" Jess whispered.

"Not now." Tess said without taking her eyes off Chuck.

"I'm sorry, let me rephrase that." Jess commented, and her normally sweet voice turned colder. "Sis? Can I have a  _word_  with you?"

"Don't worry, I'm the only bartender in the world that knows what a flyweight Mako is." Chuck promised and poured another round of beers into all their cups. "One drink maximum for the girl in the blue dress."

Jess giggled, a little unnerved, and hauled her twin off to the side.

Tess followed her twin out of the booth and into the corridor until they were out of earshot. Jess picked another private room and pulled her sister into it so they could speak privately. "What?" Tess demanded. "I was kind of in the middle of someone."

Jess looked nervous. "You got that cup you gave Chuck from the homebrew bottle, right? The one I poured for Mako?"

"Right." Tess nodded.

"Well, um... You know how we wanted Mako to loosen up and have fun tonight?"

Tess felt her face turn to stone. "What the hell did you  _do_?"

"Well, I sort of... It's not like I knew Mako had a history with booze." Jess defended. "I sort of... drained about a third of that bottle and refilled it up with vodka before we left tonight."

"You what?" Tess hissed.

"I know, it was stupid, but Mako was so determined to have fun tonight, and I practically forced her into coming along, and it wasn't like at least one of us wouldn't be with her every second... It was just to make her relax. But if Chuck's right, and she's got like zero tolerance, then a shot or two of vodka in her beer might be... how shall I put this? Bad."

"Oh god, we are in so much trouble." Tess moaned.

"What do you mean?" Jess felt her face harden too. "What did  _you_  do?"

Tess winced. "Well, it was just... Chuck, you know? He hadn't made a move, and... I sort of... did the same thing to that bottle before we left. I didn't think Mako would drink  _at all_  so it seemed like a fairly safe move."

Jess paled. "Oh no. So with both of us spiking the same bottle, how much vodka do they have in them now?"

"Not enough to kill them." Tess offered optimistically. "Maybe enough to get both of  _us_  killed."

The twins turned and ran back to the corridor and into private booth they had left. Mako and Chuck were gone. "Man, sometimes I  _hate_  that we think so alike!" Tess complained. "All right, let's find them before an Instructor does."

And then the Alarms went off.

"Breach!" The twins yelled in horror and ran for it.

But when they made it back to the Dance, there was almost no change. Except that half a dozen places in the room were suddenly empty. The door, the bathrooms, the drinks table, all left to themselves.

"No instructors." Jess breathed. "Okay, is that good for us, or bad for us?"

"Hey, did you guys hear the alarm?" One of the recruits laughed. "There's been a Breach."

"Pete, what happened?!" Tess demanded.

Pete told them. "Well, I don't know where you guys went, but when the alarm went off, there was a rush for the door. The Instructors said that since the Recruits don't have an Action Station, we might as well stay and enjoy the party. Everyone else, all hands on deck." He shrugged. "Hey, we're just in the way, unless we're in here."

"Where's Mako?" Jess demanded.

"And where did all the scotch come from?" Tess demanded.

Jess looked around and realized her sister was right. As if like magic, everyone had a drink in their hands. "And I thought I was being sneaky."

"Hey, most of these recruits come from a place where they're allowed to Drink. The Marshal's aren't stupid. They know if they don't have a bartender who knows what he's doing, then someone will just sneak something in." Pete toasted. "Fortunately, the bartender split when the alarm went off. He's got a battle-station too." Pete pointed. "And Mako's over there."

The twins turned to see Mako and Chuck at the other end of the room. Trading a bleak look, they hurried over.

Chuck and Mako were 'dancing' or more accurately, they were twirling each other around dizzily. Both of them were laughing like it was a rollercoaster. Every now and then they would stop spinning, holding each other upright, and switch to another dance move. It was somewhere between a swing dance and a game of tag, but neither of them were particularly steady on the feet, and they as a result, Mako kept her face pressed against Chuck's neck at every step.

As the twins got closer, Mako finally overbalanced on her unfamiliar heels, enough to put them both up against the glass wall. They both giggled outrageously... when Mako closed the last few inches and scored her first kiss.

A chorus of catcalls rang out, and Chuck extended one hand to flip off anyone watching, not breaking the lip-lock. Tess strode forward and tried to pull them apart. Mako ignored her, and those watching booed, getting a free show. Tess glanced at the dozen or so people around them, and drifted casually back to speak with her sister.

"I think we may have made a tactical error with the drinks." Tess told her.

"No kidding." Jess nodded, gesturing at Chuck. "Are you okay?"

Tess snorted. "Of the two of us, which one has a history of embarrassing moments involving vodka?"

"That would be you." Jess agreed.

"I'm fine." Tess promised her sister. "But we've got another problem here. Mako's a little out of control, and it's our fault."

"So's Chuck. In fact, this whole party is getting out of control." Jess agreed. "And if it goes like it seems to be, Mako's never gonna forgive us once she wakes up hungover in bed with Hansen."

"Right. And that's  _my_  plan." Tess agreed helpfully.

"But if we try and drag those crazy lovebirds apart, it may... 'cause a scene'. If that happens, word's gonna get out who spiked their drinks."

"Mako and Chuck won't turn us in."

"I know, which is why they'd both get drop-kicked out of the program." Jess hissed. "We make this official, and we're slightly screwed."

"Them and both of us." Tess shot back. "We were the ones with the vodka. So how do we do this without Mako despising us, and without getting all four of us bounced out of the Academy?"

Jess bit her lip. "Think Chuck was right about Mako being a Marshal's Pet? Because if she is, The Old Man wouldn't want to see her washout. He's maybe the only one in the Dome that can keep this quiet."

Tess winced. "Ohh, this is gonna be bad." She complained. "Give it five minutes. Kaiju battles don't tend to last much longer than that. Cross your fingers that the war goes well for us tonight, or the Old Man's already gonna be in a bad mood."

"We'll both go." Jess agreed. "I'm better at breaking bad news, but you take a punch better."

"No. You better stay and keep an eye on our girl. Five minutes is long enough to... Never mind." Tess told her. "And just so you know, Mako's not wearing a bra right now. Don't let anyone  _else_ find out, if you know what I mean?"

Tess turned to the door and found Marshals Hansen and Pentecost in the doorway. "Oops, never mind."

Jess noticed the Cavalry come in too. "Well, look on the bright side. We got away with it. For now."

The Twins thought alike to the point of near telepathy, even without drifting. The second they saw The Law had entered the room, they both turned at once and quietly vanished into a corner.

* * *

Mako was feeling a little hazy, a little flushed, a little too warm. Chuck was doing weird things with his tongue, and she could feel his hands exploring the neckline of her dress. She wasn't sure she wanted him to, but she wasn't disliking it at all. The room was spinning around her, and she found she was clutching at his hair to stay upright.

"Be honest, Mako." Chuck groaned in her ear. "You never really liked me, did you?"

Mako grinned, finding that hilarious. She pulled him in for another kiss and found herself biting down on his lip. He yelped in pain, and she giggled harder.

"HEY!"

The bark was loud and ferocious, and Chuck and Mako broke apart instantly. Marshal Stacker Pentecost was standing over them, fury on his face. Marshal Herc Hansen was right beside him, trying not to laugh.

The whole room came to a screeching halt.

"This party is OVER!" Stacker roared.

Chuck saw him and stammered. "Sheriff Pentecos'... I me'n... Stacker Pente-dad. I mean..." He gulped and took a large step away from Mako. The young woman overbalanced without him and fell on her rear. "I would never... ever... not  _ever_... not in a million years..." Chuck blinked a few times. "What was I saying?"

Herc looked more than a little amused at Pentecost's reaction to his son. "Kid, do yourself a favor and stop talking."

"Yessir."

Pentecost's deathstare moved to Mako. "Miss Mori?"

Mako was seeing six of him. "Six again' one s'not fair!" She slurred from the floor. "Oh, help; Daddy, I'm so wasted."

Stacker glanced at the rest of the party. None of them could meet his gaze. "I had come up to tell you that the battle went well for us. It's the first engagement in almost a year without massive repairs needed. I had come to show you the gun camera footage and show you something the news won't get for another fifteen minutes. I had to come to tell you that I knew each and every one of you here had it in you to do even better than that, against much tougher opponents." He looked at them, Chuck almost passed out, Mako sprawled on the floor, and everyone else watching it happen with drinks in their hands. "Let me ask you something." He said, suddenly so calm and polite that everyone had to strain to hear him. "If you found yourself with confused mental judgment, your motor skills compromised, and your senses overloaded... which is something that happens fairly often in Jaeger Combat... would you want your backup  _watching_ and  _laughing_?"

Deathly silence.

"Marshal Hansen,  _move'em out_!"

Herc wasn't smiling any more. Pentecost's little speech had shamed them all. "Yessir. All right, Cadets, you heard the man! Dis-MISSED!"

The party broke up instantly, and everyone ran for their lives. Except for Mako, who stared blearily up at Pentecost. "Hey-y-y." She slurred. "So, I guess you wanna apologize, huh?" She was about to say something else, when she promptly threw up all over him.

* * *

Mako was staring at her tray in the Mess Hall, feeling vile. The tray was full of fresh food, fresh eggs, fresh toast... The Shatterdome quite possibly had the only fresh food on the continent, and she found it stomach-turning.

That morning there was an announcement declaring that the PPDC would no longer host mixers and parties for the recruits. Any future parties would have to be organized and held off-base. As a result, Mako and Chuck were feeling some disdain from the rest of the staff. Mako had the table all to herself, but was hungover enough to be grateful for it.

Chuck sat down across from her. "Never again." He moaned.

"Never, ever again." Mako agreed miserably.

Chuck looked up at her bleakly. "Mako, I'm trying to remember... how far did we go last night?"

"Not as far as you would have, if they hadn't stopped you." Jess said brightly as she came up to the table, and slapped her steel tray down on the table hard. Mako and Chuck groaned at the noise.

"Good MORNING, campers!" Tess almost shouted, and slapped her tray down too.

Mako would have cried if she hadn't felt so dry. She pushed her tray away and lay her face down on the table, covering her head with her arms. "I'm sorry!" She wailed.

"For what?" Tess asked brightly.

"Anything you want, just please stop  _screaming_!"

"Never again." Chuck moaned, almost weeping.

"Never, ever again." Mako groaned. But she sat up and regarded Jess. In a lot of ways, her only real friend. "Are we okay?"

Jess took the question straight. "You and I will be okay when you and she are okay." Jess jerked a thumb at her sister.

"Why?" Chuck groaned. "What happened?"

Tess held up a hand. "Shush." She told him, before turning back to Mako. "Miss Mori, there's only one question I need an answer to."

"If I was sober, it would never have happened." Mako promised. "And certainly not with Chuck."

"What do you mean, 'certainly not with me'?" Chuck demanded, offended.

"Quiet, Chuckles, the grown-ups are speaking." Jess cut him off. "Mako, if I'd known you were such a flyweight, I never would have snuck a doubleshot of vodka into your beer."

"And if I'd known Jess was gonna do that, I wouldn't have done the exact same thing for Chuck." Tess confessed.

"Oh. Is that what that was?" Mako groaned.

"Twins. Freakin' twins." Chuck commented. "Thinking alike, so why not join the Jaeger Program?"

Jess glanced at her sister. "And since they were using cups, Chuck got hit as well. So if it's their fault, it's my fault. And if it's vodka's fault, then it's  _your_  fault too." She reasoned.

"Looks like we should be the ones apologizing." Tess agreed. "Especially since we were the ones that got away with it."

"Plus, she's known Chuck longer than we have put together. It might be awkward. You know how needy boys can be after getting to First Base."

"I'm sitting right here!" Chuck complained.

Mako was sobering up enough to realize how the two sisters had rehearsed this, and was actually starting to feel less awkward about it. "Guys, I think the best option here is for one of us to throw ourselves on the grenade." She said somberly.

The twins broke into heartless cackles.

"The Grenade? Are we talking about  _me_ , here?" Chuck demanded. "What do you say about me when I'm  _not_ around?"

"We're sorting out last night, Chuck; kindly butt-out." Jess said politely.

"I know you are, what I don't get is why you're ignoring me. I get that it wasn't the proudest moment; but it was sort of between me and Mako."

"And Tess." Mako groaned, still rubbing her head.

"Why Tess?" Chuck asked, oblivious. He looked at her in a panic. "Oh hell, did we... I can only remember half of last-"

"Hush, you!" Tess reached out a hand and put a finger over his lips. "I'll let you know when to start begging forgiveness. And I'll give you a hint, it won't be in the Mess Hall, and it will involve fuzzy pink handcuffs and some soft candle-light."

"...oh." Chuck commented, finally catching up.

Tess turned her imperious gaze to Mako. "Now. I will pretend last night didn't happen if you will. I will prevent Jess from ever attempting to get you to another party, ever again, and I will even take Chuck off your hands. Abs like his are a terrible thing to waste. But in return, I want one thing."

Mako nodded. Jess was her friend, and if making peace with her sister required something, she was willing to do it. "That is?"

"Last night, when Marshal Pentecost shut down the party... There was a split second when I thought I heard you call him 'Daddy'." She and Jess were both grinning like demented lunatics, waiting for the whole story. "Dish."

Chuck looked over. "You never told them?"

Mako shook her head. "You might know this, but when I was nine, my family was killed by Onibaba. A month later I spent my tenth birthday in an orphanage and-"

"Tokyo Girl!" Jess slapped her forehead. "Of course! Mako Mori! Gawd, that's where I heard the name. That's been bugging me for months!" She gasped suddenly, clapping a hand over her mouth. "Stacker Pentecost was a MK-2 Pilot. He killed Onibaba that day!"

Mako nodded. "And not long after that, he... well, he adopted me."

"The Old Man is your freakin' FATHER?!" Tess blurted in jaded awe.

Mako nodded.

Jess broke down laughing, almost in hysterics. She was laughing so hard she was almost rocking the table back and forth. Mako groaned and tried to block her ears.

Chuck took up the story. "She's followed him around every Dome he's been assigned to for ten years. Her eighteeth birthday, she stood up her own party, because she was already joining the Academy." He sent her a look. "We were at the Mess Hall. Pentecost pulled some strings to get you your gift."

"What was it?" Mako asked without thinking.

"A Diploma." Chuck groaned. "You knew all the basics, all the Regs... If you'd stopped for breakfast that morning, you could have skipped Boot Camp altogether."

Mako felt her stomach drop again. She was lucky she had nothing left to throw up. "No." She moaned. "So... all those times when he tried to call me and I refused the call... He wasn't trying to order me to come home, he was..."

Chuck nodded. "He was trying to tell you you could come home as a Full Fledged Cadet."

Mako reeled back enough that she fell off the bench. "I screwed everything up!" She whispered from the floor. "It was my fault!"

Jess came around the table and gave her a tight hug. She sent a look to her sister. "We're all good with her." She said. It was not a question.

"We are." Tess confirmed.

"What about me?" Chuck asked.

"Fuzzy handcuffs and candles." Tess reminded him. "I'll let you know in the morning."

"You know, we haven't actually been on a date yet." Chuck pointed out.

"Shush, you. My sister and her friend are in need of Girl-Talk." She told him seriously. "Go have breakfast and throw up again."

Chuck almost fled the table, in over his head.

Tess rose to her feet. "All right, let's get her some place private."

* * *

The twins managed to lead a blubbering Mako all the way back to the Female Dorms, which were mercifully empty. Mako managed to tell them her entire life story on the way.

"I left because I never thought he'd let me join up." She said, winding down. "And now it turns out that if I'd just stayed where I was another hour..." She covered her face with her hands.

"Mako..." Jess said softly. "I've never once known you to need someone's permission."

"Pentecost's not 'someone'." Mako sniffed. "If he'd told me to come back, or to quit the Acadamy... I think I would have said yes."

"But he never asked you to." Tess pointed out.

"I never gave him the chance." Mako moaned. Jess was pushing more sports-drink at her. She gulped it down to fight the headache and kept going. "I got a dozen messages. I never dared read them. I got a dozen phone calls. I refused them all. I just knew he'd tell me to come home, and... I couldn't refuse him, so I didn't let him try."

"He could have made it official." Jess offered. "He could have had Sgt Slaughter pull you out of class with a message. Or shown up himself."

"What would you do, if you send a hundred messages three different ways and the person you're trying to reach actively tries to avoid you?"

Jess sighed sympathetically. "I would stop trying."

Tess looked at her with open sympathy. "And now you've found out that the whole time, he was actually willing."

"Willing would be okay. He actually  _helped me_  skip the baby steps; and I ignored him. In fact, last night was the first time we've seen each other outside a class room. I was so sure I knew what he'd say that I never let him speak."

"Mako, it might not help, but...  _this_  is what kids  _do_  with their fathers. You know what your dad will say so you don't ask? Across the planet, a billion families are having this fight. Admittedly, not with Kaiju involved, but still..."

"My own stupid pride... I was just so sure I knew him so well. Part of me always thought that he'd be my partner. When I realized that wouldn't happen, I had to leave. I thought I knew how he thought, and I didn't know anything at all." She covered her eyes, doomed. "He'll never forgive me."

The twins traded a look. "We need more than hangover cures for this." Tess said seriously. "Where in the Dome would we find ice cream?"

* * *

The two of them had kept Mako company until she settled. Mako didn't know what she was going to do about Stacker, but was relieved that a moment of drunken stupidity hadn't cost her any more than her pride.

Eventually, the other recruits made their way back to the Dorm Rooms, and the three of them went about their day. Tess prepared for her first official date with Chuck, and Mako decided to turn in early.

"Mako?" Tess asked as she checked her make-up. "I think we've achieved some level of... whatever it is we are. At this point, I feel comfortable asking a deeply personal question."

"Is it about my hair?" Mako asked from her bunk without opening her eyes.

"Mako, why do you have blue hair?" Tess asked sweetly, and Mako could hear the smirk in her voice.

Mako sighed. "I got very stupid one night, and started a fight with my... With Marshal Pentecost."

Jess let out a low whistle, and Mako gave up pretending it was a private chat.

"What was the fight about?"

"About me joining the Academy without having a partner." Mako confessed. "He won. Or I did. I'm not sure. That night I went out and got drunk... and somewhere in there I dyed my hair bright blue. I'm not sure if it was meant as self-punishment or an apology; but I was very definite about making some kind of statement when I was drunk."

Tess laughed.

"It's not funny!" Mako insisted. "If my eyes were bigger, I'd have looked like an anime character!"

Jess burst out laughing too. "Well, I like the look." She offered. "Tell you what, Mako: You get a Jaeger, and every teenage girl in Japan will want two-tone hair. Black and blue will be the new fashion."

"It probably will." Mako agreed ruefully.

"And I guess we still have to find you a Drift Partner, huh?" Jess said, with a note of eagerness in her voice, ready for a new project.

Mako knew she was right, but faced with Jess' impossible enthusiasm, she just laid her head down slowly and groaned miserably.

* * *

With the First Round over, the class had been reduced by over ten members that didn't make it. Mako didn't even know their names. She had known from the start that those ten wouldn't make it.

Stacker hadn't come to see her, even after the party. It seemed he was determined to leave her alone, no matter what she did.

"You may have to be the one to break first and go talk to him." Tess told her quietly.

"I know." Mako whispered back. "But I still don't know if I can face him."

* * *

The Second Round began with combat training. The first thing they saw when they entered the Mess Hall was their names, written on a new screen. Every Dome had the combat stats for each pilot team, simulated and real. It kept the teams competitive.

In a training Dome, there was another screen for the cadets. Their test scores, both academic and physical. For the first time, the cadets got a look at the scoreboard. Those that had a Drift Compatible Partner were listed as a team. Those that were still looking were listed solo.

Mako checked the scores as she got her breakfast. She was at the top of the list. In second place were Jess and Tess. Chuck Hansen was in third place, by a tenth of a percent.

* * *

"Close only counts with hand grenades." Tess told Chuck with a cold smirk. They had been unofficially dating for almost a week, but they were still competitors.

"The game is won or lost in the last round, kitten." Chuck shot back. "I've been playing a lot longer than you."

"And yet, I'm still winning." Mako taunted them all lightly.

"Why do you think I dropped to third?" Chuck grinned. "How can anyone keep their edge around here without you to beat us up?"

"I don't get it, if you've been here that long, how come you're training with us?" Jess asked.

Chuck shrugged. "It takes time to build Jaegers. I train until there's somewhere for me to graduate to. It's not like there's a shortage of work to do in the meantime."

Mako nodded. "Cadets work everywhere. Assembly, supply, construction, repair... Everywhere in the Dome."

Tess and Jess traded a look. Neither of them had been trained in any of that. The look they traded made them shiver.

Chuck caught Mako's gaze, and the young woman nodded. The twins were practically Drifting already, just by virtue of being together so long. They were a natural fit for the program. A fit that Mako and Chuck didn't have.

At least not yet.

"Don't worry." Chuck soothed the girls unspoken worry. "You'll pick it up. The Dome doesn't leave any of its own going hungry."

Mako shivered. She hadn't missed the sudden change in her diet. The Boot Camp was supplied by civilian donations... and they were barely staying healthy. Coming back to the Dome was a feast.

If the PPDC Entry Schools were so short of food rations, she dreaded to think what the Boneslums and the Orphanages were like by now.

_And if it hadn't been for Stacker, I'd probably be in one or the other._  Mako thought miserably to herself.  _And now I can't even..._

She shook that thought off. She told herself it didn't matter.  _Stacker wasn't just my father, he was my Sensei, and I have new teachers now._

The thought made her want to kick herself.  _Did I really just think that? Did I really just say that I don't need to talk to him any more because I made it to the Academy?_

* * *

Mako studied Jess in the Dojo. "Bring your foot a bit further forward."

Jess adjusted her pose. The Kwoon combat room was a big part of their scores. An even bigger part of their training. But it was a style of combat not often covered outside the PPDC. Mako knew the routine as well as her own heartbeat, and had no problem teaching Jess. Jess had insisted Tess come along for their lessons, and Chuck hung around Tess wherever she was.

Tess and Jess moved in almost unison, though they weren't even looking at each other. They paused between motions, holding the position of each strike and return.

"Remember, it's all about balance." Chuck reminded them. "Balance and control. Marshal Zane had us run these drills over and over, and without warning, he would say 'freeze'."

Mako nodded. "If you can keep your balance mid-movement, you've got the right stance. If you have to shift your feet or if you fall over, you're off." She watched them move for a moment. "Freeze!"

Jess and Tess both did so... And they were both rocking back and forth, trying to hold their balance. Jess dropped first, trying to stay balanced, right to the last.

"To be fair, it's not like we're going to be posing for statues in a Jaeger." Tess complained.

"If you can't stay on your feet when you're standing still, you'll never stay on your feet when a Kaiju is hitting you." Mako told her. "Chuck, demonstrate."

Chuck collected a staff and stepped into first position. "Hai!"

Mako came at him, unarmed. He slashed the staff out at her, and she flowed around it instantly, twisting into impossible positions without a wasted movement. He reversed the swing, and this time she caught it, using it as leverage to reverse the hold, and Chuck was suddenly unarmed.

Jess whistled. The whole thing had taken less than two seconds.

"Balance." Mako said simply. "Now, you, slowly." She swung the staff at them, much slower. Tess tried to move as Mako did, twisting her body out of the way. She avoided the staff, but the position was awkward, and she overbalanced, falling back to the mat. "Lesson learned?"

Tess held up her hands in surrender. "Lesson learned."

Mako tossed her the staff. "Again." She told Tess seriously. "The scorecard is updated daily, and you don't want Chuck to take second place away from you."

Jess actually giggled, and started the routine again.

* * *

The training continued, and so did the War. Two more Kaiju attacks came, both ahead of schedule. Nobody could figure out the progression, and nerves were getting frayed in the Command and Control Center.

The Kwoon Room became a regular part of their training, and the scores went back and forth for a few weeks. Mako stayed at the top of the list, but Tess and Jess traded second place for fourth place, before working their way back up to third. Chuck took second place, and as before, there was less than a percent between them.

* * *

Mako was perched on the edge of a heavy support girder, almost three stories above the ground. The hangar was a huge open space, and you had to get a decent altitude to get a good look at the Jaegers, even during construction.

But if you climbed up the outside of the Control Room, you could walk across the girders that held all the spotlights. On the far side of the girder was a concrete ledge that had the best view in the dome, and enough room to set up a picnic if you could get it there.

Mako went there often. Chuck knew where it was, but never joined her. Nobody did... until that night.

"There you are!" Jess said brightly, from a distance. Mako looked and saw her climbing up the access ladder on the outside of the Control Room. Jess waved and cat-walked out onto the girder. "I brought chocolate!"

"Where did you get chocolate?"

"Chuck won a bet with his dad." Jess explained. "He wanted to score points with his girlfriend, so he gave it to Tess. Tess wanted to keep an extra two ounces off her thighs, now that she's got a steady guy, so she gave it to me." She promptly broke the small chocolate bar in half. "It's a thank you, for helping me with the bo fighting." She gestured back the way she came. "Look! I managed to keep my balance all the way out here."

"Good thing you did, or you'd be dead." Mako said blandly.

Jess' impossible cheeriness didn't even register that. "So, this is your spot?" She guessed. "Did I just invade your treehouse?"

Mako snorted. "Looked a lot different back in the day."

"How so?"

Mako gestured out at the hangar. "Well, for one thing... The hangar was always full."

They both looked out at the huge hangar, with open spots. Half a dozen empty places... And one Jaeger, mid-construction. "The first Class-5 Jaeger." Jess commented.

Mako nodded. "They're naming her Striker Eureka. Going to be the best Steel Samurai ever built. All new combat chassis, a dozen different launchers..."

Jess nodded. "I looked at the construction timetables. They'll be polishing the chrome just as we're graduating." She licked her lips. "One of us is going to get Striker Eureka."

Mako nodded. "Looks that way." She said lightly. "Jess... you're the first real friend I've ever had."

Jess looked over. "Really?"

Mako nodded. "Yeah. You know what my life was like before we met. I grew up in Shatterdomes. I never had a best friend before." She took a deep solemn breath. "So, I hope you won't hate me when I get Striker Eureka and you... y'know,  _don't_."

Jess grinned. "I'm your best friend!" She enthused.

Mako almost laughed, but it wasn't her nature. She wasn't quite sure how she had managed to become best friends with this... hyperactive pixie, but she had.

The sound of the bay doors opening made the girder they sat on shudder, and both young women turned around to look in the opposite direction. The large bay doors were opening over one of the empty Jaeger slots.

And being lowered into place, was something Mako never expected to see. "Gipsy Danger."

The huge machine was polished steel grey blue. But the thing was barely recognizable as humanoid. The torso had a huge chunk torn from its side, one arm missing, and one leg snapped clean off, being carried in after the rest of it. The turbine in the centre of its chest was dark and cracked, and its head was bent halfway out of the neck. It was unable to remain in standby position on its own, and it was being held up with dozens of suspension cables. Her skin was covered in large square holes, too neat to be done in combat. Someone had taken a cutting torch to its body.

Jess let out a low whistle. "Looks like she took a hell of a beating."

Mako nodded. "She'll never fight again. I hear The Marshal is bringing all the wrecks together. For training, I think. Showing up working components."

Jess nodded. "I hear one of the pilots survived."

Mako nodded. "Beckett. Lost his co-pilot. His brother." She shivered. "I've met three pilots that lost their partner. Two during combat, and one long after their last Drift. The guys that lose a partner mid-Drift? It would have been kinder to take them out and shoot them."

Jess nodded. "What's with all the slices?"

Mako shrugged. "They look small, but they're still at least ten feet square. Probably taken by someone as scrap. If she's been brought here, then Marshal Pentecost probably wants to do something useful. I think she's beyond hope, but it's still good alloys, gears, moving parts. Someone will no doubt strip her for parts, cannibalize her for repairs..." Mako trailed off suddenly.

"Mako?"

The young Samurai in training didn't hear her.

"Mako?" Jess pressed.

Mako shook her head hard, as if to clear it. For a long moment, though it sounded insane... It felt like Gipsy Danger was staring at her. "I'm... I'm fine." She said finally. "We should get back."

Jess reached out a hand and caught her wrist. "Just... before we go, I need to know that we're okay."

Mako blinked. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Jess sighed. "I was stupid. I was pushing you into something I had no right to, when you clearly weren't interested, or ready. And then I spoked your drink to help you along? It's not the act of a friend."

Mako sighed. "Jess, I've been hiding who my father was all this time, when he was right here. You never actually asked, but whatever you want to call it: I lied. For months. That's not the act of a friend either." She pulled Jess up. "Jess, if I'd stayed here for another hour or two, I would have got that diploma, I would have skipped Boot altogether, and we never would have met. I've never had a best friend before. So-"

She would have said more, but Jess suddenly yanked her backwards into a tight hug. Mako felt herself freeze for a moment, and hugged her back lightly.

Jess broke the hug and turned to go. "Okay. We can go now. If we can make it back across without falling a thousand miles."

Mako glanced back at Gipsy Danger. It was the strangest feeling, like she was seeing something in the mirror, except there was no mirror. It's like Gipsy Danger was looking at her from behind her own eyes.

"Mako?" A distant voice called.

Mako woke up suddenly, as if from a trance. Jess had already made it across to the other side of the hangar. Mako had been standing in the middle of a steel girder, holding onto nothing, hundreds of feet in the air, staring at a wrecked Jaeger... completely unaware of time passing.

* * *

Marshal Herc Hansen was in the house for the start of the second round. He was still based out of Australia, but when he was in Alaska on business, he took part in the training schedule.

The Recruits were assembled in the Kwoon Combat Room. Marshal Hansen came in, and made his way over to the rack of hanbo staff weapons. Mako noticed that at the bottom of the rack was a much smaller one. The one her father had given her when she was a little girl. Pentecost had never taken it down, and nobody else had gone near it.

Hansen strode to the rack and selected one, without so much as a glance at the recruits. He moved to the mat and slipped off his shoes... And then produced a blindfold, covering over his eyes. "Son."

Chuck quickly got the point and selected a staff of his own.

The recruits murmured to each other.

Chuck lashed out with the staff. Herc moved without hesitation and blocked it. The impact was loud enough to ring through the whole room, almost echoing off the walls.

"How often have they rehearsed this?" Tess whispered.

"It's not rehersal, it's compatibility." Mako whispered back. "They think like each other. They fight the same way. They know what the other will do, because it's exactly what they do. They're not fighting each other, they're fighting themselves, and happen to be doing it at the same time."

It was like watching a fight scene out of a movie. Father and son were dueling, one of them blindfolded, the other with his eyes closed, and they were moving so fast that nobody was entirely sure how to even copy what they were doing. It was electrifying to watch, but the fight continued long enough to have everyone holding their breath, waiting to see where the fatal mistake would come from.

It came a few moments later. Herc went into a low speed strike, just as Chuck made the same move, only higher. The strike was fast enough that none of them could follow it...

And both of them froze, staffs both at a dead halt, both less than an inch from each other's cheek. They both struck and held back in the same nanosecond. A draw.

Those watching broke into applause as Herc took his blindfold off. "It looks impressive, and it is. But everyone rated for combat will be doing the same soon enough."

Low murmuring broke out.

"Remember, the point of this is not to see who wins a fight, it's to see who fights most like yourself. This isn't a measure of better or worse, it's about compatibility. Those of you without a partner already, pair off. You'll be sparring in turns until we get a feel for your different styles."

Those that had come solo started looking at each other. Mako did not. There was nobody in the Class of 2021 that could match her, and she knew it.

"Mako." Herc said politely. "We haven't got a partner for you yet, and we both know you can take anyone here in about three moves, so you'll be sparring with me."

Mako nodded.

"I'll spar with her."

Everyone turned to the door... Where Stacker Pentecost was watching, eyes fixed on Mako.

Mako felt her heart stop, and then start again at triple the normal rate. Her hands were opening and closing, her mouth was dry, she could feel electricity running through her limbs to the point where she could swear she had lightning coming from her eyes.

A chorus of catcalls rang out. Mako's lessons with the Twins had gained some attention, and almost everyone had dueled with Mako unofficially. She had defeated them all easily. Having the Old Man show up Himself for a showdown was almost cinematic.

But those that knew the truth were energized. It was a sparring match that would bring down the entire Shatterdome in a fiery explosion, or heal a broken family. There was no chance of anything in between.

The Twins were openly staring, with their jaws hanging open. The Hansens were watching with careful calculation, as though they were watching it happen from far away. Everyone else was placing bets, making jokes, getting a good spot...

Stacker was as calm as a frozen lake as he stroke over to the rack and selected a staff. Mako calmly stepped to the mat and waited for him. The eagerness was a living thing on her face.

Everyone felt like they could hear a bass drumbeat ring out slowly as they both bowed to each other, and moved into the first positions. Kwoon Combat was a mix of Yin Sho Gun and fencing. The weapons were used as swords, or as a short staff in equal measure. It made for close quarters battle.

Most combatants started out with a few exhibition moves, showing off their skills, showing off their speed. These two did nothing of the kind.

Stacker opened with an attack. It was a sudden vertical slash that would have caved Mako's skull in half if it connected. By the time Stacker had made it halfway across the mat, she was somewhere else.

The best move would have been to strike the opening his attack had made, but Mako knew exactly how fast the Sensei was; and he would be expecting that. Instead, she tried to use his speed to trip him up.

The attempt failed completely, and she had to dance backwards before he flattened her.

He had trained her. He had taught her. Every work out method, every Kwoon technique, every bit of her endurance and agility training had started with him.

But not ended with him. He had taught her how to fight, she had taught herself how to move. Mako realized suddenly that the style of combat he had taught her was not the kind she used herself. He fought patiently, drawing his enemy in close.

She struck out with everything she had. All her training had equipped her, and her fury made her more aggressive than anything Stacker Pentecost had taught her.

Mako fought to keep her control. She was fighting the Sensei. She hadn't done that since she was fifteen. She was  _fighting_  the  _Sensei_.

_If you'd just had the nerve to face him, we wouldn't be having the conversation_ _here_ _._

Because that was what it was. The whole point of the Kwoon Training was to see if you and your opponent could naturally speak the same language.

And as she let loose another series of quick attacks, she was starting to get frustrated. His first strike had goaded her. He wasn't pressing his advantage, he wasn't counterattacking. he was just blocking her attacks. The stance made it impossible for her to exploit a weakness in his defense, because he didn't have any.

The frustration built. She was lashing out faster and faster, and he was still blocking her.

She held her staff up defensively, too high to be smart. She gave him the opening. He didn't take it. She went low, low enough that she couldn't maneuver. It was another opening. He didn't take it.

Mako's teeth bared. He was giving her the combat equivalent of the silent treatment.  _If you didn't want to come at me, why did you step into the ring?_

Stacker finally got fed up with her blatant taunting and took her feet out from under her. He hauled her over his shoulder in a judo throw like she weighed nothing. Mako slammed into the floor hard enough that the air exploded from her lungs. His staff was at her cheek instantly.

She didn't bother to step back up, she struck from the floor. He jumped back, and she came up swinging. There was fury in her strikes, and icy distance in his. She was getting angry, and he was thinking about something else.

_Come on_. She thought at him, teeth bared.  _I'm a big girl, just say what you want to say to me!_

They moved fast, flashing their staffs back and forth. Mako made a forward roll, trying to get under his defense. He brought his staff down vertically to cut her off, and she had to break off the attack to hold her staff up above her head protectively. The two weapons slammed together hard enough that Mako felt her staff crack. She swept her leg out and hooked his feet out from under him.

She was already attacking as he dropped to the ground. He brought his staff up to block, and she slammed hers down hard enough that her own staff snapped in two at the impact. The broken edge of her staff was suddenly an inch from his throat, with her on top of him.

Herc called from off to the side. "You want to hold until we replace the broken-"

Pentecost managed to get both his knees under Mako's stomach, and he tossed off hard enough that she went sprawling. Mako wasted no time rolling to her feet. She held half of the broken staff in each hand and came forward, almost savage, striking at her Sensei with as much speed as she could. He matched her fury with cold calculation, dancing backwards, then sideways, then around her. He was moving twice as fast as usual, just to keep up with her frenetic assault, but he was blocking both her hands easily.

Mako was breathing hard, but from the exertion or the emotion she wasn't sure. She threw everything she had at all. All her fury, all her guilt, all her anger and apology, honed to the speed of thought, and he was keeping her out, just like he always did.

She. Just. Couldn't. Get. Through!

Stacker saw his moment and took it. The staff hooked at her hands, one after the other, and suddenly she was unarmed.

She didn't care. She kept up the assault anyway. She darted forward, almost like a dancer, and bent over backwards, almost folding herself in half to get under his guard. She went under his staff like it wasn't there and was suddenly right in his face.

Stacker pulled his staff in tight, and Mako felt it across her shoulderblades, pinning her to her father's chest. She clasped her hands around the back of his neck, ready to flip him over, when he suddenly dropped his staff and grappled her close enough that she couldn't get leverage enough to flip him, or to break away.

They froze. The recruits watching froze. The Instructors froze. The whole world froze.

Both of them were breathing hard, suddenly locked in a fierce bear hug that went on and on.

"A conversation, huh?" Tess whispered.

"One they should have had a year ago." Herc responded quietly. "Come along, class; let us away."

The Recruits that didn't know about Mako and Stacker's history would find out any second. The ones that did know were quick to leave the father and daughter alone.

The hug continued a long time. Mako held on tighter than she'd ever held onto anything; and it suddenly dawned on her. Stacker wasn't her partner. Not because of the radiation scarring, or because of the age difference, or anything else.

When Herc and Chuck Hansen fought, they were able to predict each other perfectly, as though they were fighting themselves. Mako and Stacker were better fighters, but not the same. It wasn't about skill, it was about compatibility. She was all fury, while he was cool and untouchable.

And now that she thought of it, they had always been that way. Her entire life she'd been aggressive, pushing the edges, driving harder and further... And Stacker had absorbed all of it without hitting back.

_Because that's who he is._  She thought.  _He can take anything. He can take on the burden of an entire war when everyone, including his own weapons and workforce are taken away from him. He just absorbs the hits and remains untouchable._

_Except that you ran away._  A little voice reminded her. A little voice in her soul that sounded so much like Tasmin.  _You ran away, and didn't even fight with him about it. If you'd just picked a fight like you always did, he would have absorbed it without blinking, and given you the diploma, and everything would be okay. You don't run away, Mako. You_ _attack_ _. Why did you run away from_ _this_ _, of all things?_

"It's my fault." She whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear it herself.

She felt Stacker twitch. It was the first words spoken in almost ten minutes. And then he absorbed that too.

He set her down, and they stepped away from each other, bowing respectfully on autopilot.

Mako found she was smiling. They'd finally had the conversation. Practically a screaming match. The fact that they hadn't used their voices had nothing to do with it.

* * *

She knew she should have rejoined her class, but she didn't. She went back to the Hangar, and stared up at the shattered wreck of Gipsy Danger.

She didn't know why or how, but she knew it was staring back at her. As if it knew her. As if it missed her.

As if she  _belonged_ to it.

Her father had taught her a lot of the old traditions. One of them was that spirits could live in things created. Good spirits, evil spirits, familiars... Statues in particular were meant to house spirits of protection.

Mako had never believed that. And yet, here she was, staring at a torn down steel statue, designed to protect. And somehow, it was staring at her.

She shook it off and rejoined her class.


	5. Mama-Moira

When Mako was nineteen, she had a family again.

There was a break in the training, and Mako found she had nothing to do. Her relationship with Stacker had thawed, more or less. He was still distant from her, but not coldly. She supposed it had to be that way. He was her Commanding Officer now. She had spent her whole life trying to make that happen, and wasn't about to express disappointment with things as they stood.

But it meant that when the Class of 2021 broke for two weeks, she had nowhere to go, and nothing to do.

Jess and Tess were going home to California. Chuck had been invited to go with them, as his relationship with Tess grew deeper, but Chuck was on his way to Australia to visit his dad.

"We flipped a coin." Tess explained. "If the coin had come up heads, he would have come with us."

"And then I would have had a week of running interference with Mom and Petey while she and Mister Universe snuck off for quickies every other hour." Jess told Mako. "Trust me, this is better."

Mako smirked tightly. "Well, have a good time."

"Of course, Mom would have insisted Chuck have his own room." Jess said conversationally. "She's a bit of a prude that way. I'm told she's trained Max to protect the pretty girls in the family."

"Mm." Mako nodded.

"So there's a guest room going begging, now that he's had to cancel." Jess continued.

"She should rent it out." Mako suggested. "Plenty of people looking for a home nowadays..."

"Okay; sense the tone, would you?" Tess interrupted them, fed up. "Mako, my sister is trying to let you know that there's room for you if you want to come with us for the break."

Mako blinked, truly stunned. "...Oh." She was completely taken by surprise.

"And Tess?" Tess turned to her sister without missing a beat. "Mako doesn't get the subtlety of this situation, because she'd never been invited on a sleepover before. As her first official best friend, you should have realized that."

"Yes'm." Jess nodded, properly shamed. "Mako, would you like to come to our place?" She asked clearly.

Mako smirked. "Yes."

"There, see?" Tess applauded them lightly. "Was that so hard?" She turned to Mako. "Don't pack the uniform. We're leaving the Dome behind for a week."

"I..." Mako swallowed. "Except for that party dress, I actually don't have civvies."

"Ooh!" Jess beamed. "We get to go shopping while we're there!"

* * *

__"So, how to they find each other?"_ _

__"They are drawn to each other."_ _

__"But, Papa... There are so many people. Something has to make them find each other. If they haven't found their Soul Mate yet, then something has to show them where to look, or they'd find them right away."_ _

__"Perhaps. It is karma. That is the great harmony of life. Those that know how to watch for it can see it everywhere. You must learn to look, daughter."_ _

__"Then there are maybe three? Two Souls, and whatever draws them to each other._ _ _"_

__"Good thought. And more true than you know. Pleased to meet you, Mako."_ _

__"What? Who are_ _ __you_ _ __? I... I know your face."_ _

* * *

"Wake up, Mako."

Mako awoke with a start. The plane was landing, and Tess was shaking her awake. Her eyes were shining. "We're there!" Tess enthused.

Bakersfield, California was one of the hottest places Mako had ever been. She'd never been in a desert climate before, but there was no shortage of green and leafy trees. She wondered where the water was fed from, but then the plane landed and she had other things on her mind. Waiting at the airport were two people that Mako vaguely recognized from the photos beside Jess' bed. An older woman, and a young boy.

"MOM!" Jess yelled, running forward, wrapping the woman up in a big hug.

The woman hugged her tightly. Tess came along a few steps behind her, more restrained. Tess hoisted the young boy up off the ground so that they were eye to eye. "Hey, soldier." Tess teased warmly. "Miss me?"

The boy nodded shyly, not taking his eyes off Mako.

Tess made introductions. "Mom, bro: This is Mako Mori. Mako, this is Petey, our little brother, and Moira; our mom."

Moira stepped forward and clasped Mako's hands. "I'm told I have you to thank for my daughters being such wonderful students, and skilled Cadets." She raised an eyebrow. "Jess tells me you taught them the science of hitting each other with sticks."

Mako shrugged. "Someone had to."

"You're not going to say hello?" Tess prodded the boy she carried on her hip. Petey hadn't taken his eyes off Mako once. Mako stared right back, and then reached into her pocket, drawing out a small toy Coyote Tango; offering it to him.

The boy smiled big and took it, suddenly her best friend.

Moira smiled at the sight. "Miss Mori, welcome to California."

* * *

Every other street had empty houses and boarded up shops. Breadlines had formed in a few places they drove past.

Moira took it in stride, though Mako could tell the Twins were worried. "What happened?"

"Damn recession hit us hard." Moira admitted. "The Mall shut down about six months ago, and-"

"The Mall?" Jess seemed horrified. "It's  _closed_?!"

"Not so much closed as a Soup Kitchen now." Moira sighed. "The stores just closed up shop. No shipping, no stock. No stock, no income. No income, no people."

"It's the Breach Acceleration." Mako put in. "The Marshal told me all about it years ago. More than 90% of goods, from food to toys to cars to clothing was shipped internationally by container and cargo ship. The entire economy depended on everything getting where it needed to be just in time. Then Trespasser hit."

Mentioning the first Kaiju made the temperature drop in the car by about ten degrees.

Mako paused, knowing she'd hit a nerve. She looked back over at Tess with a questioning look. Tess put a finger to her lips. Not the time.

Mako cleared her throat and moved on. "Um... Shipping across the Pacific is dead, now that the predictions for a Breach are all over the place."

"Hence the problem with keeping stores open." Moira agreed. "Plus, the million or so people that moved to town to get away from the coast..."

"Mom? What about you?" Jess asked in concern.

"Ohh, we're pretty well off." Moira promised her daughter. "The house was paid off before San Francisco happened, and we've got bags of garden. With just me and Petey, we can actually grow enough veg in the yard to barter a few luxuries. And then of course you two went and became exceptional. Once the e-Zines got hold of your score..."

"They've got that already?" Tess complained. "We haven't even graduated yet!"

"Hey, whatever helps mom put food on the table." Jess shot back.

"They took photos of my collection!" Petey announced proudly.

They drove on for another fifteen minutes or so. Suburbia was crowded. The cities were all but abandoned, and the suburbs were crowded with refugees.

Moira was smiling a little at her daughters in the mirrors. "Someone else wants to see you, too."

"Does he  _not_   _remember_  the restraining order?" Tess demanded.

Moira laughed. "No, not him."

Who she meant was quickly discovered as they pulled into the driveway. The house was a two story house with a big backyard and a two car garage. A young bulldog came trotting out, barking loudly.

"Max!" Jess called excitedly, and jumped out to greet the dog. Max froze mid-bark, as though he didn't believe what he was seeing, and then came running forward, nearly wagging himself in half.

Mako hung back to let the Twins get a good look at their home again. Moira did the same, and Mako helped her with the bags.

The Twins headed inside, with the dog bouncing around them excitedly. When Mako reached the front step, the dog spun around and crouched, trying to decide whether to bark or not. After a moment, it sniffed her feet and went running back to Jess, deciding Mako wasn't worth barking at.

Moira chuckled, following her in. "We got that dog to scare off prowlers. The only one he's had to scare off are teenage boys. Show him a pretty girl, and he's a teddy bear."

Mako flushed at the backhanded compliment. "Well, you're very kind to open your home to me, Mrs-"

"Moira." The older woman interrupted. She was giving Mako a long maternal look. "Or even 'Mama' if you like. Half the kids in the Centre call me that nowadays. Lotta refugees looking for a mom."

Mako gave her a long look in return. "What did they tell you about me?"

"The girls tell me that you are brilliant, and impressive, and that you've been somewhat isolated by the crusade you've chosen for yourself." Moria said kindly. "They said that you're surrounded by strong paternal figures, and big brother style jocks... And that you're a match for all of them put together. They say you could really use a Mom to look after you, and a baby sister to look after, because you're wasted as an only child."

Mako flushed. "Maybe. I don't know. Some parts of my life would be easier with a sibling."

Moira smiled. "Petey, show Mako to her room, please?"

The boy had reappeared, as though magic, directly at Mako's hip. "This way."

Mako followed, her shoulder bag slung across her back.

The guest room was nicer than anywhere else Mako had slept. Her vaguest memory of her own home in Japan was of a small room with a fold-up futon mattress, and very little in the way of accessories. In the Dome, she almost always shared a room. During Boot, privacy was unheard of. Even when she  _did_  have private quarters, they were fairly tight; and made entirely of metal, with pipes lining the walls...

But this, with a closet, double bed, even a small private bathroom... It was a luxury hotel to her. She went to the window, and looked down at the backyard. It was large, with a lot of it divided up into vegetable gardens. With supplies so tight, a lot of families grew at least some of their own food. The other part of the garden was still green grass, with a large tree that had a tire swing, and a bike leaning against the fence...

It was like something out of a movie.

"So, you find everything?"

Mako spun. Jess was in the doorway. "Yes. Yes, thank you."

"Well, come on. Lunchtime."

* * *

"Again!" Petey shouted, delighted.

"This kid works us harder than The Old Man." Tess chuckled. Nevertheless, the three of them ran the sparring match again.

Petey had been full of questions about their training, and the one things they could show him quickly that he would understand was their combat training. Moira came home from the refugee center and found that someone had taken down her curtains. She found her kids in the backyard, both Twins and Mako each holding a curtain rod in their hands, while Petey hopped up and down as they dueled each other.

The Twins had improved dramatically in their hand to hand combat. Their compatibility showed dramatically. Everyone could see the similarities in their fighting style. It was fast. It was furious. It was a demonstration of perfect control, and learned skill.

"Where did my girls learn that?" Moira asked herself in wonder, hiding behind the door.

And then Mako stepped into the middle of them with her staff, and promptly took them both on. The twins struck at her as fast as they could, and she blocked them both, her rod swiping back and forth with perfect precision. The three of them were moving so fast that neither Moira at the door, or Petey in the yard could properly track it.

"Ahem!" Moira cleared her throat loudly, and all three girls froze, spinning to face Moira, hiding the rods behind their backs; as though 'mom' hadn't seen them. "Those are my curtain rods?"

"Yes'm." The Twins said in unison.

"I expect them returned when you're done with them."

"Yes'm." The Twins said in unison.

"Dinner at six."

"Yes'm." The Twins said in unison.

Moira glanced at Mako. "I can assume you were the one that taught them how to do that?"

"No Ma'am." Mako said honestly. "The Instructors taught them. All I did was teach them how  _not_  to get hit in the face."

Moira raised an eyebrow. "Good. I've paid enough in dental bills. I assume someone with scores like yours knows how to teach such things?"

"Yes'm." Mako said obediently, and Petey smothered a laugh.

"Good. Someone play with Max, please. He needs to go for a walk soon." Moira turned and went back inside. She paused at the door and looked back. "You are... impressive, girls."

Mako bowed automatically, as she did to the Sensei. "Thanks, Mom." The Twins said in unison.

Mako could only shake her head. The Twins thought a little too much alike. Especially when their Mom was around.

* * *

After the Twins had been worn out, Petey had turned his energy to Max. Max had run back and forth between Mako and Petey as they tossed his ball back and forth between him. Once they'd worn out Max, Petey had dragged Mako up to his room and showed him everything. He had quite a collection of Jaeger and Kaiju action figures. He was quietly thrilled at her encyclopaedic knowledge of both. Once they'd run through all the action figures, he'd insisted on teaching Mako how to play his videogame, and she confessed that she'd played it before as a child. The two of them played against each other for almost an hour, and Petey officially adored Mako more than his own sisters.

After dinner, after the sun had gone down, the Twins had changed into pajamas.

Mako had never had pajamas before. She usually slept in her underwear. With so many late night, or early morning drills, sleeping in sportswear was the norm for her. Nevertheless, she found a pair of Jess' old pajamas folded on her pillow, and she joined them.

Moira had sat with them for a while, face almost glowing with contentment. She had all her kids home again, and she loved it. The twins picked a movie and they all watched it together.

When the movie ended, Mako glanced around. She was sitting on the couch, with Max asleep on her lap. Jess was at the other end of the couch, with Petey on her shoulder, pretending he wasn't tired, and Tess in a chair beside them. "Feels weird being up this late." She admitted.

Jess nodded. "First time in forever that we don't have a 0200 surprise Drill and a 0430 start."

The movie ended, and Moira gestured at Petey. "Take Superman upstairs and tuck him in, would you?"

Jess nodded and scooped her brother up.

"...mako." Petey yawned.

Jess gave Mako a brilliant smile, and the young woman tried to slide out from under the family dog to follow along.

They tucked Petey into bed, and he mumbled to them. "...mako. Play again tomorrow."

"We will." Mako promised, and found she was smiling.

"Sleep tight, bro." Jess whispered. "Bless your bones."

Mako followed Jess out of the room. "What does that mean?"

Jess shrugged. "What does anything our mothers say mean?"

Mako smiled, like she knew what that meant. She didn't have any memory of anything her mother ever said to her. She didn't even have a picture of her mother any more.

They made it back downstairs, and found Moira setting out a tray for them. "Thought you girls might like a nightcap." She yawned. "I'm turning in too."

"Night mom." The Twins chorused and each gave her a kiss in turn.

"Great to have you both home. I love you both so much." Moira smiled. "G'night, girls. G'night, Mako."

Mako wasn't smiling any more. "Night." She answered absently, and found herself staring at the tray. Mugs of steaming hot chocolate, with marshmallows floating, and a plate of cookies.

"So." Tess grinned. "Another movie? It's not like we have an early start."

Mako was holding onto the mug tightly, uncomfortable. "Yeah."

Jess patted the edge of the couch and Tess sat, sliding to the floor. Jess set her mug down and produced her hairbrush, braiding Tess' hair, like they always did in the Dorms... but it was different now. So much... softer, happier.

They were both watching the movie, not needing to look at each other after a lifetime of braiding each others hair in front of the TV.

Mako brought her legs up off the floor, coiling into herself a bit. She wasn't smiling.

* * *

It was after midnight by the time they all went to bed. Mako got into bed and nearly moaned, it was so comfortable. The bunks at the Dome were thin. The cots were narrow and solid. This bed was like something out of fairytale. She knew that the room wasn't anything extraordinary. Any civilian in the country with a place of their own to live in would have a bed like this. But for a girl who couldn't remember anything but military bases...

She felt... warm. Safe. Comfortable. The room was so incredibly relaxing that Mako couldn't bring herself to relax. She'd spent the night watching movies with the Twins, playing games with Petey, vegging out in front of the TV with hot chocolate, and cookies...

Mako felt her head hit the pillow and she burst into tears.

She fought to get her breathing under control for a few minutes and heard a gentle tap on the door. The door opened, and Moira leaned in, wearing a robe. "Hey. You alright, sweetie?"

Mako couldn't answer. The older woman came over and settled on the edge of the bed. Mako heard her make soft gentle noises of comfort and support, felt gentle fingers stroke her hair for a while, calming her down.

"Is..." Mako sniffed. "Is this what it's like, being normal?"

Moira chuckled. "What's normal?"

"I wouldn't know." Mako turned over to face her. "I... I lost my family when i was a tiny little thing. Sensei took me in and I spent my life preparing to take the fight back to them. I never had a best friend, I never had a little brother, I never tried hot chocolate, or wore pajamas. I never ate cookies in front of the TV, or had someone braid my hair. I've never tried to ride a bike, or had a bathroom to myself, or played fetch with a dog, or..." She shut her mouth quickly.

But Moira already knew. "...or had a mom come to tuck you in and sit with you till you fell asleep."

"It's just so perfect here." She sniffed. "It's so wonderfully  _ _perfect__  here! I spent my entire life trying to get into a war! I've spent my life trying to go in the opposite direction to this; and it's just so  _perfect_  here!"

She squeezed Mako's hand kindly. "You need a family, Mako Mori. You need a mom."

Long silence.

"Mako..." Moira crooned. "The girls, did they ever tell you what happened to their father?"

Mako shook her head.

"He was... in San Francisco when Trespasser smeared it." Moria said with grief. "And then my brother? He was killed in the counterattack. He was one of the Fighter Pilots."

Mako sighed in sympathy.

"My girls? They went running toward the war too." Moria told Mako. "When the whole world, when  _everyone_  with common sense was running  _away_  from the Pacific Rim, my two teenage girls, who's biggest worries were new clothes and kissing boys? They  _volunteered_. I'm proud of them. But I worry about them every day." Moira leaned closer, lowering her voice like sharing a bedtime story. "And then Jess wrote me about her new friend. Someone who was better than the all their instructors put together. Someone more dedicated and passionate about fighting Kaiju than any ten Marshals, and brilliant enough to build a Jaeger of her own if nobody gave her one."

Mako smiled a little.

"When someone found the scores and rankings of the Shatterdome? My girls were in second and third place. First place went to this Japanese wunderkind named Mako Mori. I told my girls to take special notice of a prodigy like that. To watch everything she does. Jess told me not to worry, because the 'Tokyo Girl' was her best friend."

"She is." Mako admitted. "I still don't know how that happened."

"It always made me feel a lot more comfortable with things." Moira told her. "Whenever they told me about you helping them with their classes, or their training? I always felt better about things, knowing that they were there, surrounded by smart, strong people who loved them. When they tell me about their friend, the Steel Samurai, helping them along, keeping them safe? It makes it easier to deal with the thought of my babies out in the war."

Mako barked out a small laugh.

"You keep my girls safe, Prodigy. You do that, and you'll always have a family." Moira leaned down and kissed Mako's hair. "And a Mom. Deal?"

"Deal." Mako said softly.

"Think you can sleep now?"

"I do."

Moira rose, and left her then. "Good night, Mako."

"Good night..." Mako waited until the door had closed before finishing her thought with a whisper. "...Mama."

* * *

Two days passed. Mako had helped the family in the vegetable gardens during the morning, helped Moira with her work among the refugee centers during the day. She was right. A lot of the little kids called her 'Mama-Moira'. Mako felt her throat catch at the orphans. In a lot of ways, her life began in just such a place.

In the afternoons, she played with Max and Petey. She loved the twins, but they were catching up with old friends and schoolmates that Mako had never met, and Petey was young enough to be upset if he was left alone. Mako didn't mind. The kid was a match for her high scores.

The third day, the Twins had taken Mako to the markets. The Supermarkets were all closed, but trade still happened, in open air markets. Parks were turning into Bazaars all over the world. People brought things they grew in their backyards, things they decided to sell...

"The good news is these markets accept ration cards." Tess told her.

"In fact, they accept almost everything." A complete stranger told them with a smile. "It's practically a barter system now." He held out a hand. "I'm Trevor. Years ago, I was homeless; then SanFran went; and suddenly I was one among millions, and I got my ration cards, same as everyone else. The Kaiju were the great equalizer. There are still the disgustingly rich, and the desperate poor; but there are a lot less of both with everyone against the wall."

Mako snorted and returned the handshake.

"I've heard it said that some people want to break down all the cities completely." Tess said quietly. "No cities, no targets and the Kaiju can't do any damage."

"What do you think?" Mako whispered back.

"I think... That we can't handle cities any more. Small town folks can be pretty self contained, and they're doing fine. Then someone gets cancer and needs chemo, and only a big city hospital can provide it. You don't get that in a small town. Clothes through barter and everyone growing their own food might save the human race from total anarchy, but there'll be a lot of casualties along the way."

"Well, that's our job, isn't it?" Mako grinned.

Jess came running up them. "I love the neighborhood markets!" She enthused. "Remember at the Prom, and i said that Shelley Webbs dress would look so much better on me?"

"I remember." Tess said patiently.

Jess grinned. "She just traded it to me for a single ration of powdered milk! I love a bargain!"

Tess snorted and traded a look with Mako. Neither of them knew whether to be amused or worried. Mako could see fear in the eyes of people who were buying and selling the only wares they had.

But not all were so nervous. There was one stall where people were selling little statues. Mako looked closer at one of them that seemed familiar. The little clay statues were homemade, hand painted... and they were statues of Kaiju.

Jess followed her gaze. "Ah! Petey wanted me to get the new line-"

Mako went cold all over and grabbed her best friend's hand. "Jess, that's not merchandise." She said quietly. "They're icons. That stall? They're Cultists."

Jess looked again, surprised. "Are you sure?"

Mako nodded. "Look at them. They're handmade."

"So's more than half the crap here." Tess told her. "That said, I think Mako's right. They're not selling toys, they're selling talismans."

Jess looked again. The man behind the table was covered in Kaiju tattoos. He didn't seem to be taking money, and he had a bumper sticker on his car with a crossed out symbol of the PPDC. Jess chewed her lip and decided not to risk it. "Well... Petey's a collector anyway. He doesn't want homemade toys, he wants the ones he finds on the back of his comic books."

Mako nodded, when she noticed the tattooed man was staring at her. His look was... unsettling. "We should go."

"Lunch!" Jess decided happily. "They've got a bunch of food trucks at the edge of the park! There's one that sells curry!"

"Vegetable curry." Mako said decisively. "Ones with meat? Don't trust it."

"She's right." Tess agreed. "Too easy to cook a pigeon and call it chicken."

Mako smiled secretly. Tess didn't know it, but she was a lot like Tasmin.

Jess went off to get them lunch, and Mako noticed something on a table as she passed. For a former homeless man, Trevor had a pretty wide variety of wares. What caught Mako's eye was a baseball card. With the World Series called off for the duration, the memorabilia was printing cards of pilots and Jaegers now. Mako turned the card over.  _ _Yancy Beckett.__  She thought.  _ _Why does this face mean something?__

"You a collector?" Trevor asked her. "Because when a pilot is KIA, the value of the card increases."

Mako was about to respond when she felt a presence at her side. "I know you." A voice whispered in her ear.

Mako spun. It was the tattooed man again.

"I know you." He breathed, almost eager. "I know your face."

"No, I don't think so." Trevor said, putting himself into the conversation. "That card, miss? Consider it a gift."

Mako took the warning. Trevor knew the tattooed man, and was telling her to run for it. Mako gave him a nod and stuck the card in her pocket, heading away.

The Cultist kept pace with her. "Tokyo City, ten years ago. You're the kid that was on the news. I saw the footage!"

Mako felt the hairs on her neck stand up. "I don't talk about that." She said politely. "If you'll excuse me." She turned on her heel and walked away as fast as she could.

He kept pace with her. "I saw the footage, Tokyo Girl. You're special! Listen, I've got a bunch of friends that meet up every week. We try to understand. And if you don't mind, we'd really love to talk to you, even if just for a little while!"

"Why me?" Mako asked, despite herself.

"Because you've had what... well, what all of us have been dreaming of! You were there! You saw it!"

"Lots of people have seen Kaiju." Mako brushed him off, walking faster.

"Yeah, but they never look  _back_!" The man told her reverently. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. "I saw it! Onibaba chased you down that street. You! It could have dug up a shelter or knocked down a building, but it wanted  _you_ , Tokyo Girl! You have to tell me why!"

Mako felt a thrill of horror go through her. The question was one she had asked herself more than once. "It doesn't matter!"

"Yes it does!" He insisted with terrible joy. "They come to this world for a reason! More than just to tear down our useless cities! You're Japanese! You should know! The Ancient Gods have returned to wipe clean the world! They want  _you_  for something more! They've chosen people! I have to know! How do i get them to choose me too?"

Mako didn't know if he was insane or just stupid, but she knew she didn't feel safe, and didn't like his hands on her. She moved swiftly and put a quick finger-thrust into his Adam's Apple. The cultist dropped to his knees, wheezing for air as the muscles in his throat spasmed, cutting off his air.

Mako didn't look back. She moved quickly toward the gates into the park, where the Twins were getting lunch.

"Mako!" Jess called. "I found you the cutest-"

"Later." Mako cut them off. "We had better go."

* * *

On the walk back, Mako filled them in on what they had missed.

"Mom says the Cultists have been getting more and more... vocal." Tess sighed. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I understand fascination. I understand merchandising. I understand wanting a piece badly enough to go Black Market... How could anyone  _worship_  Kaiju?" Jess complained.

"It's not unusual." Mako said. "In Japan, it's an ancient superstition. Monsters from the Deep. The Cult wants to make offerings in return for protection. You have the same thing in your culture, every time you've seen a movie where someone waves a cross at a vampire. Plus, every culture has worshiped monsters in one form or another. Crocodiles, snakes, lions... Imagine what they must make of a monster that can knock down a city and survive a nuke."

"But they're... evil." Jess argued. "Who worships evil?"

"Plenty of people." Tess snorted. "A lot of cultures have offerings for various Death Gods. We have that too, every time you see a TV show where a pretty girl falls  _in love_  with a vampire. People with sense fear the monster, some offer them love."

"I still say it's creepy." Jess sighed. "And I don't like that they seem to have noticed Mako."

"Noticed me and then some." Mako said quietly. "We're being followed."

"I know." Jess nodded without missing a beat, like it wasn't a big deal. "I spotted the van two blocks ago. Nobody keeps the engine running when fuel is rationed so tight. In fact, I think it's the van from the Market."

"The Cultists are following us." Tess hissed.

"Not us. Me." Mako told them. "All right... I'm the one they want. I'm not about to lead them to your house. Peel off."

"We're not ditching you." Jess scorned. "We have this wonderful new invention called a  _ _phone__. Call the police."

"They see us make a call, and they might make their move." Mako stopped her. "Peel off and make the call from somewhere they can't see it."

"What if they come after you?"

Mako snarled. "Let them."

At that moment, the sound of a siren drew their attention and a police car came screaming around the corner. The Van lurched into reverse and tried to back off, when another police car came in from a side street and neatly boxed the van in.

"Stay right there!" The policeman shouted at the three of them, as the Van doors opened and three tattooed men inside were quickly arrested and hustled away.

Mako sent Jess a look, and the blonde quickly held up her hands. "I didn't call them. When did I have the chance?"

"The call came from the stall owners at the Market." The detective told them as he came over. "Detective Ryan. The Market Rats keep a close eye on these guys, and noticed their interest in you, Miss Mori."

Mako blinked. "You know my name?"

"Witness reports said that he called you 'Tokyo Girl' more than once. Five seconds and a web browser told us what they were planning."

"So I wasn't the first one they tried to... 'offer' to the Death Gods." Mako sneered.

"If I can get you to sign a witness statement, you can lock this yutz away and put this one behind you." The Detective offered. "Take about half an hour?"

Mako nodded.

Tess was giving Mako a hooded look. Jess leaned over. "What's wrong? You look mad at her."

"She was going to take them on. They could have had guns and knives." Tess whispered. "Cops or not, she was going to take them on barehanded."

"I dunno, I've seen her fight. I like her chances." Jess offered.

Tess snorted. "So do I, but Mako's got a self destructive streak."

Jess bit her lip as the Twins made their way home. "I know what you mean. I... heard her talking to mom the other night."

"About what?"

Jess shook her head. "I don't think I should say. Doesn't matter, let's get home. And let's go around in circles for a while, make sure that nobody else is following us back to Mom and Petey."

"Agreed."

* * *

The Twins were worried that their mother would freak out, but she took it in stride. "Kaiju Worshipers versus the Marshals Daughter?" She hooted. "They're lucky the cops showed up and arrested them. If they took Mako, can you imagine what the PPDC would send after them?"

The Twins had found that hilarious, and Mako made it back soon after. "Statements and Paperwork took twenty minutes." She reported. "Convincing The Old Man not to come here personally with baseball bat took over an hour."

"And on that note, dinner." Moira told them.

* * *

As the sun set, Mako sat alone in the backyard for a while, swaying on the tree swing. Jess came out to join her with a cup of coffee. "You feeling better?" Jess asked quietly.

"Takes more than a run-in with some Kaiju Chasers to rattle me."

"I know, but I wasn't talking about today."

Mako looked down, embarrassed. "You heard me, then? That first night?"

"I did." Jess nodded. "It's a great house, full of memories. But the walls are paper thin."

Mako nodded. "I had a little breakdown, I guess."

"Not a breakdown. A lapse. A rare moment of human emotion in an otherwise perfect pokerface." Jess shook her head. "Mako, you've poured your whole soul into this war. But... Being alone doesn't break people. Being  _unloved_ does. And for all its awesome power over your life, a war will never love you."

"Guess not." Mako sighed ruefully. "My whole life, I've had... I don't know how to describe it. An ocean of bad feelings. It's like there's a great, gaping hole in me somewhere, and when I think about my family, and about Tasmin... It gets closer; and I feel like I'm going to fall off an edge."

"So you push it down." Jess nodded.

"I do." Mako nodded. "Stacker says you can't carry that kind of empty pain into a Drift. He says I have to face it first, or I'll never have control over myself, let alone a Jaeger."

Jess nodded to show she was listening.

"But the thing is... I don't know how to do that." Mako admitted. "There's a huge missing piece in me, and the Sensei says I have to dive right into it. I don't know if I can. And I don't know how to make it better." Mako waved back at the house. "That first night, I suddenly realized what I was missing in my life. It was  _this_. It was what you and Tess and Petey and Moira and Max all have."

"Family?"

"Family." Mako nodded. "I had Stacker, and I loved being his daughter... but he's not exactly living a domestic life himself. He's like me. I never realized until I saw a real live family how much it had to offer. I never realized how much I lost when I lost mine. At ten years old, I went on TV and announced I didn't want a family, I wanted a Commander. I froze everyone out until Stacker came and got me." She sniffed. "And that first night in your guest room, I suddenly realized... how much I gave up. Onibaba took my family; but I threw away everything else."

"So. What now?" Jess asked. "If mom hasn't adopted you, Petey and Max have. You've always got me and Tess to kick around."

Mako was about to say something when the back door flew open and Tess came running out. "Guys! BREACH!"

* * *

Everyone crowded around the television. On the screen, out in the ocean, a battle was underway.

"Our news chopper is just arriving on the scene." The commentator was saying. "This new Category 3 Kaiju, which has been codenamed 'Wraithling', is engaged in combat with Yankee Fire. The battle is taking place almost a quarter mile off the coast of San Diego."

"My god. That's us!" Moira hissed. "That's California!"

"Yankee Fire." Mako repeated grimly. "That's the Esposita Sisters. Carla and Martine."

On the screen, Wraithling had vanished under the waves. The Jaeger was visible, firing a plasma-caster after it, but it had vanished.

"Now, you'll notice the firing has stopped." The TV declared. "We have unconfirmed reports that this new Kaiju has some kind of camouflage. Thermal or Visual, we're not sure, but it looks like Yankee Fire is having trouble finding a target-"

As if to answer the newsreader, the Kaiju hurled itself up out of the ocean and slammed into Yankee Fire from behind. Its shape was barely visible against the water and the sunset. Only the churning of the water showed how big it was. It was huge, but narrow. The entire beast was one long flat edge, made for swimming through the water.

"Check the currents." Mako whispered under her breath. "Aim for the froth... Come on..."

Yankee Fire came up and caught the Kaiju with one hand. It's hand was wide enough to get a grip around the edge of the monster's head, and the helicopter spun to keep out of the way as the force of the charge. The Jaeger skidded backwards, holding back a battering ram.

With the Kaiju in a fixed place, Yankee Fire opened up with all its firepower. Rockets, missiles, plasma, all of it fired all at once. But the hard angular body didn't break, it deflected. The angles were so acute that the firepower largely went bouncing off its hard narrow hide, into the ocean.

None of them could see whether it had legs or not, but Wraithling managed to get leverage enough to toss its head back, ripping the hand of Yankee Fire clean off; loosing the Kaiju back into the water, where it quickly vanished.

"There goes the backup plasmagun." Tess complained. "It's a punching match now."

"Get under the water!" Mako and Jess hissed. "Get under the water! Get under the water! Get under the water!"

Yankee Fire apparently agreed, vanishing under the waves.

"Okay." The news reader vamped. "We've lost sight of the battle now, but we can assume that-"

He was interrupted again, as the water suddenly exploded upwards. Yankee Fire was being driven upwards, face-up; almost bent in half as the blade-like monster drove it upward, its pointed head dug into the small of the Jaeger's back. For one shining moment, the water droplets made the shape of the Kaiju visible and clear. A pair of arms reached up to grasp the opposite sides of the machine.

The three young women watched the screen. They didn't dance around and shadow-box the way Petey did. They didn't wring their hands and squeeze their eyes shut as Moira did. The Cadets were watching critically. Learning, observing, evaluating...

The only time they showed a reaction was when the monster won the fight. Wraithling got a grip, one at the knee and another at the neck, and broke the Jaeger in half across its own skull, a backbreaker move that shattered the machine.

"NO!" Mako hissed angrily.

The news helicopter stayed with the Kaiju as it planted a clawed foot on the fallen war machine and howled in victory. It was a victory howl that actually set off ripples in the ocean.

"Yankee Fire is the only Class Four Jaeger assigned to the southern coast, right?" Jess asked quietly.

"The only one Jaeger, period. There's another, but it's still under construction." Mako shook her head. "Not combat ready yet."

Wraithling turned instantly and swept toward the coast again, knowing exactly which direction it was going.

"It's heading for San Diego!" Moira said softly. "If they don't stop it before it reaches land-"

"They won't." The Twins and Mako said as one.

"Then once it's done demolishing San Diego, it'll come here, won't it?" Moira asked fearfully.

"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks?" Jess offered optimistically.

The wall phone started ringing in that moment. Then Mako's smartphone started buzzing. Then Jess and Tess' smartphones both went off.

"It's as bad as it looks." Mako declared grimly and answered her phone.

* * *

The three of them had been picked up in the middle of the night, but not taken back to Canada. They were taken instead to the San Diego Shatterdome. Moira had quickly packed up Petey and Max, getting ready to run inland.

The helicopter flew over highways crowded with cars and buses. People were fleeing San Diego.

Wraithling had made landfall and was tearing San Diego apart. The Twins looked gutted. They had been to San Diego so often they knew it as well as they knew their own town.

When they landed, they were hustled into the Jaeger Bay. A large gleaming Jaeger was parked; the only one there. A small army of technicians and engineers were crawling all over it like ants. Every inch of the Hangar Bay was crammed with people. Most of them in uniform. Some of them Mako recognized.

"Tess!"

The three of them spun and saw Chuck Hansen pushing his way through the crowd. Tess met him halfway and wrapped her arms around him. "What are you doing here? I mean, it's great to see you, but why are you here? I thought you were on your way to Australia."

"I was. Flight was delayed for a day. I thought about coming to see you, but they rescheduled, and then two hours out they turned the plane around. The Old Man called in everyone who can turn a wrench." Chuck sighed. "My dad can't get any of his Jaegers here in time, neither can Tokyo. Brazil flat refuses to send theirs in case Wraithling turns south instead of going inland..."

"FALL IN!" A voice roared over the din.

Everyone came swiftly to attention as Marshal Stacker Pentecost himself stepped up where everyone could see him. Tess traded a look with Mako. If The Old Man had come here personally, it must have been worse than they thought.

"For those of you who don't know this yet, Codename Wraithling has reached San Diego. It's not coming this way; it's focusing on the downtown region. I'm told the casualties will be in the thousands by now."

A low murmur rang out.

"Getting people here was fairly easy, getting a Jaeger here is a much larger problem. The UN has directed that Anchorage and Brazil keep their Jaegers in reserve. By the time they got here, San Diego would already be lost; and nobody wants to deploy assets that far from their posts until they know which way Wraithling is going."

Mako set her jaw. It sounded more coldblooded than it was. Many Kaiju had managed to get around Jaegers who went too far out. You had to let the monster come closer before you chased after it. It was the first lesson she had drilled into the Captains Koffey when she was ten years old.

"Now." Stacker continued. "Mop Up Crew is trying to evac the shelters furthest from Wraithling. In ten minutes, our Apaches will try to draw Wraithling in a circle around the areas that have already been destroyed, so that we can evac the shelters it's closest to. But the fact is, we project only an eight percent recovery rate, at best."

Nobody liked to think about it, but this was the tragic truth of the Kaiju War. Once the Jaegers were done, there was nothing left to do but run away.

"The UN is preparing for a full Nuclear Strike the second it clears the city." Stacker told them. "We all know how well that generally works. We estimate it will head for LA next, which gives us six hours and change. Plus however long it spends here. Six hours, before half the state becomes radioactive." He waved a hand back at the Jaeger. "To those of you who haven't met her yet, I present to you the Class Four Jaeger: Alpha Juliet. She was built to be faster than any Category Four, and stronger than a hurricane. Diamond-Steel Alloys and Hyper-Reactive Targeting. It'll be able to target a single playing card at a range of half a mile. You've all seen the footage. Wraithling is damn hard to get a lock on. This girl won't have that problem." He turned his gaze back to them. "I'm told that even with construction done, she'll need two days to get ready for combat deployment. You've got five hours."

Loud silence.

"I've called in everyone who knows how a Jaeger is put together. Crews will report to the Department Heads. Cadets will report to their Senior Cadets and team leaders, who will report to Department Heads. Make this thing ready for war. We failed this city! We won't fail another!" Pentecost roared. "Dis-MISSED!"

* * *

Mako got their assignment in short order. Construction was only part of the process in building a combat ready Jaeger. There was still testing to do, and calibrations to make. Every component was new, and the whole was untested.

"Our assignment is circuit testing." Mako told her group. All the Cadets from their Shatterdome were assembled in front of her. The Colemans, the Pittmans, Ivanov, Kowloski...

Mako had been there longest, and had the highest rank on the scorecard, which made her their supervisor. "If a power feed or a sensor or a muscle-line is going to fail, it's not going to be in combat. Split into pairs. I need two people at each panel, one on every limb. Chuck, you're with me. We'll be in the brainpan. We'll spark every line in turns, I want people at the other end to tell me if the power's getting through."

Everyone nodded.

Mako took a breath. "This is where Stacker would say something very inspiring and vaguely insulting. I don't know what to say, except that this isn't a drill any more, and there's plenty of other people doing everything else. Stay focused, work fast."

Everyone nodded and split up. Most of them were wearing harnesses with magnetic grapples. There were hundreds to tow-lines to climb, and they all made their way to different parts of the Jaeger, all of them on the outside. Mako watched them go a moment, and quickly lost them in the army of people crawling around the outside, and the inside of the Machine.

* * *

At the base of the cockpit, every line fed into the Interface. Mako couldn't help but glance back at the Interface more than once. That was where the pilots stood.

"What was that about staying focused?" Chuck reminded her.

"Sorry." Mako shook it off and opened the necessary panels. Behind her, a dozen technicians were writing together the targeting sensors and the inputs. "All right, stay away from muscle control!" She shouted back at them. To her radio, she called her team. "Who's on the right leg?"

"Cadets Pittman here." The answer came. "Standing by."

"Testing knee joint." Mako reported, and connected the contacts.

"We have a feed." Pittman called back. "Shifting to ankle."

"Now testing ankle." Mako called into her radio.

"Power flowing freely here too." Pittman called back. "Full range of motion, no power loss."

Mako ticked it off. "Who's on the Right Arm?" She called down.

"That would be us, almost." Jess called back. "The plasma-caster is on the right hand; we're having trouble finding a space. Plenty of other worker bees here. Tess is trying to make them move, in her own polite, loving way."

Mako snorted. "All right. We'll move onto the left arm and come back." She told them.

"So. You thinking what I'm thinking?" Chuck asked her quietly.

"That I've met Tess' mom, and seen her room, and you haven't?" Mako needled.

"No, not that."

"That Wraithling might notice all the helicopters pouring in and out of this Dome, so close to San Diego, and it might decide to come over and eat us?" Mako commented grimly.

"Nah, I was thinking that it's us in the cockpit. So if we pick the right moment to step out and toss in a stun grenade, we could clean out the other riff-raff and fly this thing ourselves."

Mako was about to laugh, when her gaze unfocused a moment.

"Oh my god. I was making a joke." He said with his jaw hanging open. "You're actually thinking about it, aren't you?"

Mako shook it off. "Of course not." She keyed her radio quickly. "Who's on the Left Arm?"

* * *

"Report." Stacker commanded.

"The Apache Squadrons have all been destroyed." Tendo was quick to answer him. "I'm asking, ordering, begging and blackmailing everyone I know with the rank of Colonel or higher to hold those Stealth Bombers back." He reported. "I don't know how all our teams are managing to get Alpha Juliet together without tripping over each other, but it's happening. Another quarter hour."

"That's good news."

"Not quite." Tendo put him off. "CNN says Wraithling is moving. It's not bothering with Balboa Park, it's heading toward-"

"Activate Main Batteries!" Pentecost interrupted. "Medium Range Missiles. Lock on to the target."

Everyone in the Control Room sent him a look. The Shatterdome was armed of course, but the firepower had never been enough to hurt a Category One, let alone a Category Three.

"Sir, all that will do is piss it off." Tendo offered, though he was already activating the defense grid. "And we're not ready for Deployment yet."

"Will another five minutes make San Diego fallout-proof?"

"Nosir."

"Then lock on. If you can't lock on the damn ghost, lock onto the area around it and saturation bomb the exact spot it's standing. Sound General Quarters."

* * *

The alarm that rang out had everyone freeze for a moment.

"That's General Quarters." Chuck told her.

A moment later, the sound of huge gears turning in the distance rumbled through the Hangar.

"And that's either blast doors, or missile hatches." Mako agreed, and keyed her radio. "All right, everyone from my team, finish what you're doing right this second and bail. This is about to become a bad place to be; all we can do at this point is get out of the way."

She heard the familiar voices agree, and Mako led the way out of the Jaeger. Chuck was close on her heels.

In the event of open combat, their post was a Shelter. San Diego wasn't a Training Dome. It had no place for Cadets. All the crews from other areas went running downstairs. Down below the Hangars, down below Ground Level...

"Hold the door!" Chuck called ahead, and the Bunker Guards managed to stop the huge door swinging shut until the last of them arrived. Chuck and Tess hugged tightly.

The Shelter was like any other. Big thick walls, big thick doors, no windows, and plenty of cots.

But there was a key difference. A viewscreen. The screen was set to the news.

The news showed the Kaiju tearing down buildings, digging its claws into the concrete... the camera zoomed in on the ground, revealing that it had torn up the roof of a public shelter. Jess whimpered a little as the news cut to the studio, not allowed to show as the Kaiju  _licked up_  the hundreds of people trapped within.

"If you're just joining us, we can now confirm that San Diego has been all but destroyed." The newscaster said grimly. "We are unable to confirm at this point how many of the Shelters have been destroyed, but-" He paused, pressing a hand to his ear. "We're getting reports now that Stealth Bombers are being fueled. There has been no comment from the DOD, but historically, the next step is a full assault. If you're in the San Diego area, you need to get to the nearest Shelter, or away from the city. If there is a strike, then the wind is blowing inland, toward the northwest."

"That... That's us!" Jess breathed. "Northwest, that's Bakersfield! Sis, that's where Mom and Petey are!"

The screen switched back to the footage of the Kaiju. It was knocking down buildings like they were made of cardboard. It was getting harder to spot a building that wasn't already rubble...

...and then the Kaiju was slammed with missiles. They had come in from off screen, and hit the Kaiju along its flanks. Wraithling roared and spun around, the light glittering off its multifaceted skin. It took off in the direction of its attacker.

Mako grit her teeth. "How long till it reaches us, do you think?"

Moments later, the walls quivered. Then the walls shook. They they shook hard, and they heard a roar, loud enough to echo angrily through many layers of concrete and steel.

"Not long." Chuck said dryly.

They turned back to the TV. The picture was glitching, but they could see clearly as the Kaiju reared back on its hind legs, smashing its huge claws into the side of the Shatterdome. The video was delayed by a few seconds. They could hear the impact, and a few seconds later, see it on screen.

The Shatterdome fired back, missile batteries and Sabot cannons firing out a pyrotechnic display. Even from the vantage point that the news chopper gave them, the Cadets could barely make out the precise dimensions of the thing. Its skin was changing colors.

Every now and then, they could see a missile glancing off its hide, and the flash would let them get a glance at it. It skittered up and over the walls of the Dome like a lizard, darting along to each launcher, each cannon, tearing them off the structure.

"Come on! Come on!" Mako was growling under her breath as the walls shook under the assault. The diamond skin and wedge shaped head were smashing through the walls, digging into the Dome like a scalpel.

They could see the moment that it reached the interior of the building. They had spent some time in the Hangar, and recognized the view through the torn holes...

And as Wraithling tried to climb in, a large metal fist smashed up through the break in the wall, catching the Kaiju under the chin. Wraithling reeled, flying back, and rolling down the curved walls of the Dome.

A Cheer went up from within the Bunker, as Alpha Juliet hoisted itself up from within, like a soldier climbing out of a wrecked tank.

The cheer was short lived. Everyone in the Dome knew how desperate things had gotten. Alpha Juliet was their last bit of real estate. It was the only asset left in the field. Wraithling had gone through a Jaeger already, and there was no certainty that it couldn't go through another.

And if Alpha Juliet fell, the Cadets could measure their lives in minutes.

So there was dead silence in the Bunker. Mako could feel all the Cadets getting more and more... combative. They were all in the fight. In their shared will, their collective imagination, they were all Alpha Juliet, pouring their wrath loose on a Kaiju that had already slain some of their brothers in arms.

They all watched in delight as the new targeting sensors worked. Wraithling had been invisible at every step of the battle, and now it was suddenly very clearly seen. Alpha Juliet was shredding the Wraithling's skin with plasma and ordinance. Wraithling was hammered into the ground, and trying to scuttle clear, on the defensive for the first time.

"Don't let it escape. Don't let it escape!" Jess hissed, hands opening and closing compulsively.

Mako understood her fervor. If the PPDC failed, then the Bombers would vaporize half the region, and that would drive out her family, if it didn't kill them outright.

Mako had never taken any Kaiju Attack lightly, but there was only one woman in the world offering to be her mom, and she was in danger... While Mako watched the whole thing on television, unable to do anything.

Wraithling managed to get around the edge of the Dome, fast enough to get ahead of the chasing Jaeger. By the time Alpha Juliet made it around the side of the Dome, the Kaiju had already clambered up the side of the building. Mako could see the Jaeger looking up at the wall, being directed by the Control Room; but neither the Control Room or the News Chopper had the advanced targeting sensors of Alpha Juliet...

And the Kaiju leaped down from the Dome, landing on the Jaeger's back. The impact knocked Alpha Juliet on its face, with the beast digging it's claws in. The machine was too slow to climb back on its feet under the assault...

"Elbow Rockets." Tess, Jess, Mako and Chuck all said under their breath. And apparently, Stacker Pentecost agreed.

A moment later, Alpha Juliet's fists slammed into the ground with rocket-powered force, forcing the huge metal warrior upwards, faster than Wraithling could knock it down. The Jaeger rolled, the way a pilot did on an obstacle course, and came up on its feet. The Kaiju hit it a moment later, and Alpha Juliet was more than willing to meet it.

The beast reared it's head back to take a big bite... and Alpha Juliet caught its gnashing teeth in one hand, its jaw in the other... And strangled Wraithling to the ground. A moment later, the Jaeger gave a hard twist... and broke Wraithling's neck.

The Bunker cheered victoriously, already heading for the door.

* * *

It was a victory, but not a win. San Diego was obliterated, and so was the San Diego Dome. The city might never be rebuilt, but if the Dome stayed shut down, a huge slice of the Pacific Rim would remain undefended. There were already suggestions that the city might be abandoned.

The Public Shelters that were not destroyed opened, and everyone within came out numbly to look over the wreckage of their home.

Alpha Juliet returned to the hangar, such as it was, and the pilots were met with applause, as usual; though a little more muted, with so many holes torn in the walls.

Mako looked around and noticed Pentecost was not there. That was unheard of. He always came to the victory celebrations.

She knew almost immediately.

* * *

"Tendo!" Mako shouted as she swept into the Control Room.

Tendo Choi was performing Post-Flight checks and spun in surprise. "Mako, you shouldn't be-"

"Where's Stacker?" Mako asked.

Tendo answered her. "He's on his way to Bakersfield. He had business with the local police-"

Mako was already moving.

* * *

She couldn't convince anyone to take her in a helicopter. There was too much need for them in rescue operations.

Eventually, she found a member of the Dome Staff that had a 4x4, and convinced him to loan her the keys. Jess and Tess were only too eager to go back to Bakersfield with her. Mako convinced them to drop her at the police station, and they drove of quickly, headed for home.

Mako went into the Police Station and jumped the reception desk, heading into the Precinct. Stacker was there, and he didn't seem at all surprised to see her. "Mako."

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"I am identifying a suspect." Stacker told her calmly. "If you have a brain in your head, you'll say nothing until the paperwork is done."

Mako obeyed. They were taken into the viewing room, where a familiar man with familiar tattoos was visible through the one way glass.

Mako drifted back toward Detective Ryan casually, and looked over the file he was holding. It was a ten year old cold case. An attempted kidnapping.

Mako felt her face turn to stone, and she drifted back to Stacker, sliding her hand into his casually.

Stacker squeezed her fingers, and pointed. "That's him. That's the man that assaulted my Co-Pilot ten years ago."

"You are sure?" Detective Ryan said neutrally.

"I am." Stacker insisted.

"You understand, this is a difficult situation." The Detective offered. "There is no precedent. None. The idea of an eyewitness coming forward, with testimony gained from a neural handshake? There is no legal framework for a telepathic testimony, or a medium, or anything like that. It's never been clear to me how a Drift works, but if it gives you enough of your late partner's memories..."

"It does." Stacker said shortly. "Now, if you don't mind; I'd like to take my daughter away from here?"

Ryan's eyes flicked to Mako. "I have no problem with the matter being closed." He said seriously. "Off the record, I have no problem with breaking the whole ring on a wink and a nod, but if this guy's lawyer kicks up a fuss, you could be called to the stand, and your argument will be that you can still hear a long dead woman talking in your head?"

Stacker nodded, not offended. "I'm aware of the difficulties. Why do you think I said nothing at the time?"

The Detective let that go, and wished them a good night.

* * *

They said nothing on the way to Stacker's car. Mako took the driver's seat and Pentecost sat next to her. She drove away from the station, and went nowhere, parking in a dark street as his phone rang. Stacker answered it, and Mako said nothing as he exchanged words with Tendo Choi, organizing a cleanup. Once Combat was done, it became someone else's problem, and official statements came from the UN; so there was little for Stacker to do outside the Dome, and he was usually based in Canada, so they were used to handling a cleanup, and a fallen Jaeger without him.

After about fifteen minutes of giving orders, and sending people home or back on leave, Stacker switched off his phone and put it away. They sat silently in the car for a while, not looking at each other.

"I came running, because part of me thought you came here to kill him." Mako said quietly. "It never occurred to me that you may have met him before."

"Here's what happened." Stacker said finally.

She answered him in Japanese. "Actually, I think I understand. Ten years ago, I was in an orphanage. You didn't come for weeks. I thought you were hedging, but you were doing something else, weren't you?"

Stacker nodded. "I... I was given a mission, while Tasmin healed from the fight against Onibaba. That bit of footage... you running down an empty street with a Kaiju after you... It went viral."

Mako nodded. "And the Cult of Kaiju decided that if the monsters wanted me for something, they could take advantage."

"The staff at the Orphanage had no idea, but there were three attempts. They tried to steal you out of your bed three times. The third time, Tasmin was back on her feet, and she... intervened personally. The day she came to see you at the hospital, she had just put down two Cultists with her bare hands. She had hidden them in a closet, and then she came in and introduced herself to you."

Mako snorted a laugh. "And that was the point, wasn't it?" She sighed. "She came in and sat with me, while you cleaned up the mess, and had them taken away."

"One of them woke up and escaped before I got there." Stacker nodded. "The one that escaped... Tasmin got a good look at him, and i just identified him to the police on her behalf."

"You couldn't have done that ten years ago?" Mako snorted.

"I would have, but he fell off the grid after he escaped Tokyo." Stacker explained. "There hasn't been a solid record of anyone since Trespasser. We're still trying to sort out all the refugees. It's just... so easy to vanish now."

"Ten years, and he found me again." Mako shook her head. "I've lived in the Domes all that time, barely left them... Today was the first time in ten years I've been on leave, and away from the Dome for more than a day. First time in ten years he's had another shot at me."

"Not just him. His entire cult." Stacker said grimly. "You... weren't the only one on their radar. They've been trying to find a worthy 'sacrifice' for quite a while. With one of them positively Identified, the police can move on his associates and take down the entire kidnapping ring."

She looked over at him. "It was  _her_  idea, wasn't it? To adopt me. You never came to see me until Tasmin came in and sat down on my cot. Tasmin was the one that convinced you to take me in."

Stacker hesitated, and nodded. "I told her that you deserved a real home and a real family. Not a life in the Domes. She told me that if we placed you with a foster family, we'd only be putting them in danger. The Cultists have... killed before."

"So she convinced you to take me to the Dome, where I'd be under armed protection." Mako finished.

Stacker clasped her hand tightly. "It was the best thing she ever convinced me to do. I wouldn't trade you for anything, Mako." He said seriously. "But at the time, I thought that putting you in my world so deeply would... cost you more than it offered, even if you wanted to be part of the Dome more than anywhere else."

"I know." Mako nodded.

"It  _wasn't_  because I didn't want you around." Stacker said seriously.

"I know." Mako said again. "A week ago, I would have thought that. But now..." She swallowed. "Now I know what a real family is like, and I can't be mad at you for wanting me to have that, even without you." She looked at him. "But it wouldn't have stopped me. I would have studied just as hard, practiced just as hard, and signed up on my eighteenth birthday."

"I have no doubt." Stacker smirked.

Mako leaned over and leaned against his arm for a moment. "But if my life  _had_  gone that way? I never would have been half as good as I am now, without you to teach me."

Comfortable silence.

"Sensei, can I ask you a question?"

He nodded.

Mako took a deep breath. "Are we losing this war?"

Stacker sighed. "It looks that way, doesn't it?" He admitted ruefully. "Mako, war is never decided by the numbers."

"No. But budgets and politics and construction timetables are." Mako pointed out.

Stacker chuckled. "The schedule said that Alpha Juliet was never going to be finished in less than a week."

"You told us two days."

"I lied. Stacker said blandly. "We did a week's worth of prep, and we did it with a whole four seconds to spare. Math and logic are never what win wars."

Mako chuckled too. "Sounds right when you say it."

Stacker smiled. "So. Back to the base?"

"No." Mako shook her head. "There's somewhere we need to be."

Stacker blinked. "Where?"

* * *

Moira opened her front door, and her eyes went straight to Mako. "Oh, thank god!" She took the young woman in a tight hug. "The girls made it home an hour ago, and they didn't know why..." Moira trailed off as she noticed Mako had company. "Oh. Hello."

Marshal Pentecost nodded respectfully, a little unsure of the situation. "Ma'am."

"Mama-Moira, meet Marshal Stacker Pentecost." Mako made introductions brightly. "My father."

Stacker reacted strongly to the term of endearment. Moira took it in stride. "Wonderful. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes, he is." Mako answered for him, pulling him inside.


	6. Final Exam

When Mako Mori was twenty years old, she found her first Drift Partner.

* * *

_It was her father's workshop. Mako, just shy of her seventh birthday, perched on the edge of the workbench, while her father and uncle worked at the forge. Her father had the hammer, her uncle grasped the sword, holding it in the fire. She watched them avidly. Their rhythm was perfect, more accurate than any clock._

_"What is the secret of the katana, Mako?" Her father asked._

_"The metal is folded." Mako answered promptly. "Folded and hammered down, then folded again. At least twenty times."_

_Her uncle nodded. "The blade becomes seamless. The blade is no longer a merging of metals, it is one piece of metal, joined so thoroughly, bonded so completely, that it hardly matters what the alloys began as."_

_"That is true of blade-smiths too." Her father added as they plunged the white-hot sword into water, steam boiling up through the workshop. "Two of us, merged through."_

_"But it's not two." Mako said, suddenly full gown, in PPDC uniform. "There are three of you. Two brothers, and the sword. And if you weren't blade-smiths, you wouldn't be working together so perfectly."_

_"That's right." A voice said, the only voice in English. "So there are three. Two of them, and what brings them together."_

_Mako stared at the newcomer, completely out of place in the memory. "I know you... don't I?"_

_"Yancy Beckett." He held out a hand. "Nice to meet you."_

* * *

Mako woke up instantly. She was breathing hard, but her heart wasn't racing. It wasn't a nightmare, but it had been intense enough that she had to look around the room for a moment, making sure of where she was. Jess was snoring like a chainsaw, and Tess was mumbling in her sleep again...

Mako got up and pulled her boots on quickly.

* * *

"Doctor Geiszler?"

"Miss Mori, you're up awfully early. Or late, depending on whether you've slept or not."

"I feel sure that you have not." Mako said prudently.

"Who needs sleep? I've got a bowl of unhealthy starches demanding a good home, and a lot of work to do." Newt Geiszler looked up from his microscope. "But, doctors recommend a break once every..." He checked his watch. "Eight hours ago. So, what can I do for you, Mako?"

"I was actually hoping to ask you a question." Mako struggled to phrase it just right. "Does... Are the Jaegers... alive? I mean, is there something in them that works, even without a pilot being plugged in?"

Newt took the question seriously. "Actually, that's an interesting question. Drift Tech is a new process, no matter how trustworthy it is... and sometimes  _isn't_. But a lot of the maintenance crews swear on a stack of bibles that there's something more to them than that. We get a dozen reports a month that they move a little, or that people can hear whispers coming from the Conn-Pods..."

"Dreams?" Mako asked quietly, trying to keep her voice casual.

Geiszler nodded. "Yeah, but only the pilots. It's the handshake, see. A lot of extra neurons firing off in their heads. Every other week, I hear the pilots talking about directed dreams, shared dream-states. As a matter of fact, there was a paper on it last month. A Jaeger in Beijing, with a Pilot team of triplets. They all shared a really vivid dream and the Control Room reported that the Jaeger they drive was trying to get out of the Hangar, with nobody at the helm."

Mako felt her heart give a solid thump. "So... it's possible, then. It's possible that the Jaegers might actually have some kind of thoughts of their own?"

"Well, understand that these are only tiny reports from the most extreme scenarios. There's still a lot we don't know about what the Drift does to you." Newt shrugged. "And these reports only involve Jaegers that have lost pilots. New ones off the line never get unsolved mysteries until after combat."

Mako licked her lips. "What if you've never Drifted?"

Newt shrugged. "Hey, you've seen the interviews. Some pilots say that the Jaegers pick  _them_. But again, these are only the ones that have been repaired and sent back into the war with different teams. Some of the guys think that the Jaegers can actually be haunted by their dead pilots."

"Cadet Mori, don't you dare believe a word of that hocus pocus." A German accent interrupted.

Mako turned and found the Doctor Gottlieb, the other science team leader, coming in with a small pot of tea in one hand, and a biography of Stephen Hawking in the other. "That's a load of superstition and subjective anecdotal evidence. Or in other words: Idiocy."

Newt was not smiling. "Dammit, Brain Box, would you open your mind for a split second? Please? I know it'll be painful, but try and think outside your damn calculator for just a moment. We still don't get  _half_ the things that the human brain can do, let alone the human consciousness. If Kaiju can work across two brains-"

"Kaiju are not human." Gottlieb interrupted. "And if we cannot measure the reach of the human mind, that's only because of an inadequate unit of measurement. It's a failing of an MRI machine, not a proof of anyone's delusions about Second Sight." The thin man turned his gaze to Mako. "Now, to answer your question  _correctly_ , Cadet Mori: Jaegers are machines. Not even proper AI's. They have no thoughts of their own. Do they have thoughts from other people? That is a good question. Such things have never been tested. But the Pons equipment is still a relatively new technology."

"I said that!" Newt put in.

"Yes, we're very proud of you." Gottlieb dismissed him instantly. "The point of the Pons, in its most simplistic terms, is to be a bridge between two human minds. It does this by creating a data buffer between two candidates. If, and I want to stress,  _if_  that buffer is not cleared properly, it is possible that some remnants of the thought patterns remain, even after the pilots are disconnected. It's a fluke of technology. But it cannot think, any more than a footprint on the beach can walk."

"Oh, how poetic." Sneered the shorter man.

Gottlieb turned to face Newt completely, and let fly. "It's beyond the height of arrogance to think we know everything in a field that has barely been explored; and I accept that as much as you do! But mathematically, the facts are-"

"Oh, don't start the Sermon."

"Sermon?"

"The Church of Math, Chapter One, Verse One: Today's hymn: I Am Smarter Than You, by Reverend Gottlieb." Newt sneered.

Mako turned on her heel and walked out. Neither of the scientists even noticed she was leaving, too caught up in screaming at each other. The Cadets, and most of the faculty, had come to think of it as the 'Geiszler and Gottlieb Show'. Mako rarely had the patience for it.

* * *

The Class of 2021 was in the final stage of their training. Mako was at the top of the scorecard. Jess and Tess were right behind her; with Chuck in fourth place by a fraction of a percent. He had briefly overtaken the Twins, but he was still training Solo, and the Combat exams had dropped him back to fourth, by a margin so narrow it made almost now difference.

The announcement had been made, to the surprise of no one, that San Diego would not be rebuilt. The refugees were pouring into the Midwest, unwilling to stay on the coast. The San Diego Dome was repaired to maintain the defensive line, which infuriated people who were told that their homes were written off.

The Cadets continued their training as normal, but a class of twelve people had shrunk to nine.

The advanced classes included construction. Cutbacks were happening all over the PPDC, and some of the advanced Cadets were assembling components to be used in Jaeger Construction.

The construction line was basically a long table. Jaegers had plenty of Ordinance Storage, plenty of Movement Transistors, plenty of Stabilizers. Every system had redundancies, in preparation for combat damage. They all had to be constructed. Most were constructed by factory machines, but as schedules changed and budgets changed and training rushed to keep up, The Marshal directed that the Cadets be familiar with every bolt and weld on the Steel Samurai.

"It could be worse." Jess offered. At her left, Mako nodded. They both would have preferred to be doing something more dynamic, more exciting than checking the scoreboard yet again, and putting together electronic components. For all their size, Jaegers had plenty of fiddly bits and pieces.

Mako glanced to the right and saw Tess and Chuck, working with astonishing speed. They were sharing a single toolkit back and forth. When one of them needed pliers, the other was holding it out. When one of them needed the circuit tester, or the screwdriver, or a drink of water... They were passing the same tools back and forth, using them without a word, and passing them back like a well oiled machine.

Mako stared at them for a long moment, trying to figure out how they were doing it.

Jess poked her in the side. "Mako, I need you to hold this still for a moment."

Mako shook it off and did so.

"Ten-Hut!"

Everyone jumped swiftly to attention. Marshal Pentecost came in at a quick march. "Cadets." He intoned. "There has been a development."

Everyone tensed. 'Development' was politician-code for 'so screwed'.

"With the recent budget cutbacks, it should come as no surprise to you that the Class-Five program has been terminated, pending the completion of Striker Eureka. That said, instead of the Top Five Cadets being pre-approved for the Jaeger Program... it's now going to be the Top Three."

Mako felt the shock run through Chuck, even from three feet away. Top Three meant that he, in fourth place, was suddenly out of the running. Top Three meant that he wouldn't get a Jaeger.

"Now, our best testing methods have a 1% margin for error. Due to the fact that the difference between the final scores for the Top Five is currently less than 3%, we are also including a peer review. The scorecard will require approval from the Committee."

Mako raised a hand. "Has the UN Committee ever had approval power over Pilots before?"

"No." Stacker confirmed. "But the... positions available are now limited enough that even a bureaucrat can feel useful without slowing things down too much."

"That bad, huh?" Someone said grimly, but Mako didn't see who.

Stacker sighed. "Cadets, we've known this was coming for over a year. We've pushed it back each time it's come up; but if there's one truth to our kind of combat; it's that sooner or later, the Bear gets you." Stacker's eyes roved across Mako, settling on her face just for a second. "There is a contingency in play. That's all I can say for now. This is far from over." He looked calm, but Mako could see the coldness in his eyes. "That is all."

He left them then, and Jess glanced at her best friend. "So, I guess things aren't as alright between you as we thought?"

Mako shook her head, unconcerned. "It's not... cold, any more. But I'm not his daughter now. I'm his trainee. He has to be careful when it comes to me. Showing favoritism could cost both our careers. I knew it would be that way when I enlisted. Things are... better now."

Jess smiled a bit. "I'm glad to hear that."

"At least someone's glad to hear  _something_." Tess groused.

* * *

There was an ugly mood across the Mess Hall of the Shatterdome. The Cadets felt it hardest, but they weren't the only ones to feel the squeeze. Some of the support staff had been dismissed.

"How are we meant to run a war like this?" Mako asked thickly. It was the first words spoken since they sat down to lunch.

No response from everyone else. The classmates that had been such good friends and teammates were suddenly rivals. They had always been rivals, but suddenly there was a terrible sense of urgency to it. They were two weeks from their final exam, and the stakes had raised dramatically. The lines of tension crossed back and forth between friends, siblings, even lovers.

Tess sent Chuck a guilty look. "Are... Are we still... are we okay?"

Chuck honestly didn't seem to hear her.

Jess was looking to her best friend. "Mako? What does this mean for you?"

Mako started to say something, changed her mind, started to say something else, but could only shake her head. "I... I guess this is what 'speechless' feels like." She stammered out. "I guess I had always thought that if The Marshal was going to pick a partner for me, it would be someone from the Top Five list. You and Tess already have your team sorted out, so..." She shook her head. "Top Three means there's nobody else. Top Three means you and Jess are a confirmed team and I'm... leftovers."

Chuck scowled. "Hey? Am I invisible? A fraction of a percent knocks my girlfriend off the top three and puts me in her place."

"That's my point." Mako said. "There's a review now, too. I don't have a partner. The Twins do. Your dad's a hero already..." She winced. "Even if you're not in the Top Three, you've got a better chance than me."

"You're a Marshal's kid too." Chuck shot back. "The Old Man's got more pull with the suits than my dad. If they go by the numbers, they'll keep you. If they go by the office politics, they'll go with you." He trailed off. "Two weeks. Final exam. Last chance."

Deathly silence reigned for a while.

"I need to go study." Jess said finally, and almost fled the table. Tess rose and went after her.

* * *

The tension faded a little over the next week. Work still had to be done. Jess hadn't so much as given Mako an unkind look. Chuck had withdrawn a bit from Mako, but not at all from Tess, despite the fact that of their class of nine people, and little team of four friends, he was the only one currently  _not_  above the line.

The Cadets continued their work on the assembly lines. Hyper-Engine Blocks, Muscle Transistors, Hydraulic Shock Redistributors...

"They're teaching us how to build Jaegers." Mako said grimly under her breath. "I hate to say it, but-"

"But we're learning more about construction than we are about combat." Jess agreed. "Think they're retraining us for the assembly lines without telling us?"

"I hope not." Mako hummed, when she noticed the rest of the Cadets. Tess and Chuck were working like a machine, and this time, so were the Pittmans. Watching them was like watching something out of the Matrix. They weren't moving at super-speed, or with any apparent knowledge that Mako and Jess lacked. It's wasn't hyper-reflexes or enhanced speed. They just... flowed.

Jess noticed Mako's scrutiny, and pasted a big smile on her face. "Wow. Training, huh?"

Mako gave Jess a hard look, and the pixie wilted, busying herself with the Engine Block. Mako never took her eyes off Jess as she returned to work. "Well. I'm sorry I'm making you look bad." Mako commented calmly. Too calmly.

Jess gave a nervous giggle. "Look bad? Us? Never."

Mako kept glaring. "So, you want to keep playing dumb?"

"I'm... not playing?" Jess offered.

Mako glared harder.

Jess cracked. "Okay, okay. Tonight in the Records Room. Don't say anything until then?"

* * *

The Records Room was essentially a library. It held all the files regarding The PPDC. Everything from personnel files, to requisitions, recordings of every battle from every angle, details on Black Marketeers... Everything was stored here. As the Dome was a training facility as well, it also had more than the usual number of terminals, making it a study space for the Cadets.

With less than a week to go until the final exam, and the stakes so competitive, Mako expected a lot more Cadets to be making use of the Records Room. But looking around, none of the Top Ten were there.

Jess came by a few minutes later, and wordlessly gestured for Mako to follow her.

* * *

Neither of them said a word as they walked. Jess led her to the elevators, and hit a button for Sub-Level Four.

"This whole night, we're off the books." Jess told her seriously.

Mako nodded. She had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but didn't dare say-so out loud.

Once the elevator stopped, Jess led the way through the corridors. She wasn't looking around, finding her way. She knew exactly where she was going.

Mako knew the place too. She hadn't been this deep in years, but back when they had funding and support, every room was useful. After the cutbacks, everything between the Bunker and the Ground Level was shut down.

Jess came to a door and picked up a fire hydrant from the wall, knocking it hard on the large metal door. It was a bunker style door, a foot thick and opened by wheel lock. She knocked twice, sounding like she was beating on a large steel drum.

A moment later, the wheel spun and the door unlocked from the other side. The second the door cracked open, Mako could hear music playing and people laughing inside. The heavy door made the storage space within soundproof. Tess stuck her head around the door and froze when she saw Mako.

Tess glared at her sister. "She's the Marshal's daughter!"

"She's my friend." Jess shot back. "And yours. And we should have invited her down here weeks ago. Has she ever made a fuss about who adopted her?"

The two twin sisters glared electrically at each other for a moment. Mako stayed very quiet.

"Fine." Tess said finally. "But if I get bounced out of the PPDC, you get to tell mom why."

Jess smiled real big and led the way in.

Almost a dozen recruits, almost all in pairs, were gathered around three points. One table was full of booze and snacks. The far corner of the room had video games and VR Sets, the opposite corner had a big couch...

But the other table had Mako's attention instantly. A narrow table between two recliner chairs... and on the table was a Pons.

"Where the hell did you find a Drift Machine?" Mako hissed.

"The Dome had a Training Pons for the assigned pilots." Tess explained. "The cutbacks shut down one of them. They had nowhere to send it, and it was Classified, so they couldn't send it anywhere else. It's just gathering dust otherwise, so nobody misses it. Besides, we're all half a percent away from being rated to use it."

Jess grabbed Mako's wrist and pulled her further into the room. "Welcome to the UnderDrift!"

* * *

It was the first time she had kept a secret from Pentecost. Even after so long, she thought of him as 'The Sensei' more than 'dad'. Keeping a secret from her father was a perfectly normal thing to do. Hiding something from her Sensei was unforgivable. For once, she was grateful for the professional distance he had put between himself and his daughter.

During the day, the class of 2021 was skilled, sharp, military. During the night, they snuck downstairs and held a private Drift Party to blow off steam. They even trained, on occasion; though a lot less professionally.

Mako didn't drink, and blew away the competition in all the games.

But there was always a wall between her and the others. Partly because she and the Marshal had a history, but mostly because she was alone. Everyone else that had made it this far in their training had arrived at the Academy with a partner. Even Chuck had his father, though he was on the far side of the world; and Tess was more than willing to fill in at the UnderDrift.

Mako Mori stood alone.

* * *

Tendo Choi pressed a hand to his earpiece. "Marshal Pentecost, we have Marshal Hansen on a secure line."

Stacker nodded. "Put it through to my office."

Tendo did so, and Stacker took the call in private. "Herc."

"Good evening, sir." Herc responded. "How does it feel to be the most envied man in the PPDC?"

"Envied?"

"You're the first Dome with a Class Five." Hansen explained. "Also the last. It's no secret that Striker Eureka is going to be the big gun. Whichever Dome has it will be able to hold out longer than everyone else."

"No promises in combat."

"I know." Herc agreed. "Is that what this call is about? You going to send the older Jaegers here to me?"

Stacker almost sighed. "Actually, you might want to get on a plane."

There was a moment's hesitation. "Something wrong?"

Pentecost sighed audibly this time. "I... I have to testify."

"That stupid oversight committee?" Herc snorted. "My sympathies. I've got one here too. Suits are trying to pretend relevance all over the place."

"I know, but I've got a Class Five to assign to a pilot team." Stacker grit his teeth. "And just between us, your son is currently the running favorite with the UN."

"I'm glad to hear that, of course; but you make it sound kind of ominous." Herc observed. "They can't pick a pilot for you."

"It's not just a question of who  _they_  want." Stacker told him. "Just... get on a plane at your earliest opportunity, would you? Graduation Day is coming, and one way or another, I'll need you here."

"Graduation isn't until November."

"We've had to accelerate our curriculum." Stacker growled. "Cutbacks. I had to give the Committee an answer on who was going to pilot Striker Eureka, or they wouldn't bother letting us finish it."

"Bastards. How are we meant to run a war like this?" Herc growled.

"That's the other reason I need you on a plane." Pentecost told him. "I have to testify about my Cadets, and then I have to fight with them over our budgets. I could use some backup."

* * *

One night, Mako went down to the UnderDrift and let herself in. Everyone was more or less where they usually were...

Except Tess and Chuck. The two of them were on the couch, making out heavily. The others were pointedly looking away from them, but it was clear they all knew about it.

Mako had known them both a while, and neither Tess or Chuck were so... public with their intimate moments. She looked the question to Jess.

"They tried it." Jess said, as though that explained everything.

"Tried what?" Mako asked, not knowing what she meant.

"The Drift." Jess clarified.

Mako was surprised. "But Tess is  _your_  Drift Partner."

Jess looked disgusted. "She's my sister!"

Mako honestly didn't get it. "Isn't that the point? You two work better together in the Drift because of your familiarity."

Jess just stared at her. "Good grief, you really don't know what the hell I'm talking about, do you?" She almost laughed. "I thought... after you saw Tess and Chuck and the Pittman's working like they were all Mid-Drift, I thought you'd figured the whole thing out."

Mako just waited, a somewhat lost look on her face. "Well... yeah. Having Drifted opens up your mind to that kind of... partnership, but I didn't realize you were Drifting with multiple partners." She froze. "In fact, that's meant to be impossible."

Jess sighed and led Mako away from the others, and spelled it out for her. "In combat, it is impossible. The Neural Handshake has to be 70% or higher to handle a Jaeger. But The UnderDrift isn't a Jaeger. The UnderDrift isn't about combat  _at all._  Unsuitable partners never get past 20% or so; but that's still enough to take a look in someone's head, and to get the Drift Hangover. So we come here and Drift with people we AREN'T related to."

Mako understood. "Wow. I didn't even know that was an option." She glanced back at Chuck and Tess. "What do you and Tess get?"

"The Handshake? We level out at out 75% or so."

"Well, that's more than enough for Combat." Mako murmured. "Congratulations."

Jess toasted her with her beer. "I know that look. You're wondering what you'd get if you did it. Well don't be surprised if you get some attention now that you're here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, look at it this way: What's easier? Studying a set of technical diagrams for six weeks, or finding someone who has it memorized and Drifting with them? Same goes for languages, cooking, muscle memory, training..."

Mako swiftly understood. "Ah. Does that really work?"

"Hey, for some of us, The Drift is our only hope to graduate." Jess grinned wickedly as she gave Mako a salacious look. "And... other things."

"Other things?"

"Ever been in bed with a guy who didn't have a clue what he was doing?" She jerked a thumb over at the two lovers. "My sister won't have that problem tonight."

Mako suddenly realized, and flushed. "Oh."

* * *

The sheer terror of anticipation had faded by the day of the final exam. Where there had been tension and rivalry, there was now a deep sense of... wholeness among the class.

Mako was the only one to visit the UnderDrift without actually taking part. Looking around at her classmates, she felt terribly left out. The Drift had healed an entire class of its rivalry and tension.

Chuck and the Twins were lounging, just hanging out. They were... comfortable, as though they'd been there all their lives, and knew exactly how to just relax around each other. Mako looked to the other end of the room and saw that it wasn't limited to her friends. Sanchez and the Pittman's were having the same 'three halves of a whole' vibe.

"Hey, guys?" Clay Sanchez called over. "I was thinking, none of us had much appetite before the exam. You want to hit the Mess Hall?"

"It's closed." Chuck told them. "They close it between mealtimes now."

"Yeah, but that means we'll have privacy. And we can cook." Petra Pittman offered. "Come on, what are they going to do? Give us extra Drills? Demerit us? Final Exam is done, baby; the moving finger has writ, the die is cast, the tribe hath spoken. We're bulletproof now."

"Bulletproof and hungry." Garrett Pittman put in, standing with his wife.

Tess rose to her feet. Jess and Chuck did too, almost in the same moment, all of them sharing the same thought. "Why not?" They said in chorus, and gave each other sly smiles. Three people with a secret that made them closer than family.

The Class of 2021 was practically a family unit now. A close knit family. Mako peeked at the others as they all headed for the kitchens. They were all walking gracefully, step in step, almost as though the walk from the Common Rooms to the Kitchens was a dance. Mako walked along behind them, out of sync, feeling about as graceful as a three legged dog.

Mako watched them walk, the same way she studied their form in the dojo. She could tell who was syncing up with who. The Coleman Brothers had Drifted. The Twins had Drifted. Tess had Drifted with Chuck. Chuck had also drifted with Garrett Pitman...

The entire Class knew what it was to be part of someone else. The entire class had someone, more than one someone, keeping each other company in their own souls. Nine people who would never be lonely. And she fit with none of them.

Mako Mori was the odd one out.

* * *

Watching the Pittman's cook was like watching them duel. Clay Sanchez joined in, the Drift making them move as a single body. One of them tossed a knife up easily, the next in line caught it and started chopping vegetables, before tossing the knife back up again. Three chefs working hip-to-hip in the narrow space between a stove and countertop, passing the same three utensils back and forth, without ever pausing or waiting for each other. The three of them knew how to occupy themselves so that not a single second was wasted.

It was rather thrilling to watch, like seeing the Co-Pilots in the dojo.

The rest of the class was standing at the benchtops, out of the way. Jess leaned over and whispered to Mako. "They're not going to make Combat, and they know it. They've been planning to open a restaurant. Sanchez's father owned a place. The Pittman's love to cook, so they Drifted, learned what they all knew."

Mako nodded, understanding. The three of them were doing the work of ten through sheer efficiency. If their knowledge had been shared as equally... "Do you think..." Mako shook her head, as if to clear it. "Can you imagine what would happen to the world if this kind of... HiveMind was open to everyone?"

"It's an interesting thought." Jess nodded. "Imagine deals being made between Drift Partners. Actually, forget business deals, how about Peace Treaties? Soldiers and Police that need to work as Units; therapists can use it with patients."

Mako nodded. "It'd rewrite the school system, it would rewrite every kind of military or civilian training..." Her voice had taken on a note of wonder. "How did I never  _think_  of all these things before?"

Jess gave Mako a sideways look. "You've never Drifted, have you? For training or fun?"

Mako shook her head. "I didn't even..."

"Know it was an option? That surprises me. You grew up in Domes; and you'd never heard of an UnderDrift?" Jess grinned. "You're missing out, Mako Mori." She said lightly. "It doesn't all have to be about doom and destruction, you know."

Jess had no idea how deep Mako took those words. Her whole life, she'd been obsessed with becoming a Jaeger Pilot, but on the subject of Drifting, she was a novice. She knew what to look for, but had spent no time looking.

She had spent her life making herself the perfect warrior, and ignoring the fact that by definition, she needed someone else.

She had ignored that aspect of her path... because The Sensei had told her to. She deferred to him on this subject.

Until she'd joined the Academy, she'd deferred to him on almost everything.

She had left, because she didn't have the nerve to tell him 'no' to his face. She left without telling him because she had promised not to press the issue of Jaeger Piloting any longer, and she couldn't face him when she broke that promise.

She had broken her word, and destroyed her family. After losing one family already, and then losing Tasmin... She had abandoned her father, and destroyed everything in both their lives that wasn't wrapped in a war.

And all of it in the name of a goal she had no hope of achieving, without a Partner she had never bothered to look for.

It was an unholy cosmic joke.

"Ohh, you look sad now." Jess observed.

Mako looked down. "I... I just... It never even occurred to me that Drifting could be useful for something other can killing Kaiju. Never even wondered if it could be  _fun_."

"Not a big part of your vocabulary, is it?" Jess gave her a sentimental sigh. "Mako, you're my best friend, but sometimes, I just can't figure you out." She gave Mako a lopsided smile. "It's not that I want to invade your privacy, girl. But sometimes I wonder if you need a hug, or a big bucket of ice cream or a kick in the ass."

"I am a mystery." Mako snorted.

"Doesn't have to be that way." Jess offered and held out a pack of gum to Chuck without even looking in his direction. Mako could see, Chuck had been about to turn and ask; but Jess knew what he needed. "Five seconds in your head and I'm the perfect BFF."

It was the same way Tasmin was with Stacker. And until now, Mako had believed that kind of... closeness was denied to anyone who didn't have a Jaeger.

"It would be good for you." Jess offered, lowering her voice gently. "You told me once that you felt like there was a hole in your life since you lost your family." She held out a hand. "I had the same reaction when my dad went. But now I've got three different people looking out for me from behind my own eyes. This class is a family; and I'll never be without them again, no matter what."

Mako almost took her hand in return... before she jumped up and headed back to the Dorm.

* * *

Herc Hansen called back and requested a secure frequency.

"You've read it then?" Stacker asked him, once in private.

"I have. Is this your complete testimony?"

"It is." Stacker said, in a voice that spoke of absolute doom. "I felt it was important to let you know before I made my statement. This is going to affect you."

Long silence.

"So, you didn't want me to come to your meeting with the UN for backup, so much as to showcase your prize Jaeger."

"Herc, off the record, can you think of one thing in my report that isn't true?"

"Not a word. And just so you know, we've been off the record since I hit the speed-dial." Herc told him. "I should be there in about six hours. Have you... Have you told them yet?"

"No." Stacker admitted. "I know I should, before she finds out through the usual channels."

Herc let a breath out. "You want me there when you tell them?"

"For my protection, or Chuck's?" Stacker commented dryly. "Six hours, you say?"

"Yep. I'll get a chopper from the airport, come directly."

"I appreciate it. Let's just hope nothing  _else_  happens in the next six hours."

"Listen, about the other thing?" Herc said seriously. "You remember when I said to you: 'How are we meant to run a war like this'? Well, I've been thinking about that all the way here, and it suddenly hit me: We're  _not_."

Pentecost nodded. "I think so too. I think they've bled us dry for years, and now that we can hardly fight back with what they've left us... They're justified in shutting us down completely. They made it impossible for us to do our jobs, and so they're taking our jobs off us."

"My thing is, what the hell do they plan to do when there's another Breach?" Herc demanded.

Stacker just waited, not saying anything.

Herc swore under his breath. "I called it. I said to you... what? Five years ago? Seven? I said: 'What happens when an empty suit decides The Wall is worth more than a Work-For-Food scheme?'."

Stacker licked his lips. "Look, if this is going the way we both think it's going to go? We need to have a conversation."

"About?"

"About how we're going to End this War."

* * *

_It was her father's workshop. Mako perched on the edge of the workbench, while her father and uncle worked at the fire. Her father had the hammer, her uncle grasped the sword, holding it in the fire. She watched them avidly. Their rhythm was perfect, more accurate than any clock._

_"Count off." Her father commanded._

_"One." Mako counted. CLANG! Her father brought the hammer down. Sparks flew on the white hot sword._

_"Two." Mako counted. Her father raised the hammer again, and her uncle turned the sword so that the other side was up._

_"Three." Mako counted. CLANG! Her father brought the hammer down. Sparks flew on the white hot sword._

_Over and over, perfect, accurate, swift. Watching them work was watching a machine._

_"They're practically Drifting."_

_Little Mako looked up, and standing beside her was Yancy Beckett. "Papa said Soul Mates can be family."_

_Yancy nodded._

_"But you said there were three in a Drift." Mako pointed out, suddenly a grown woman again. "Two Souls, and the force that brings them together."_

_Yancy nodded. "Yes. I did."_

* * *

Mako woke up with a gasp, looking around the room. There was nobody else there. She checked the clock. It wasn't that late yet... So where was everyone?

Mako quickly made her way to the UnderDrift. Most of the usual players were there. The night before, only Tess and Chuck had paired up. Now there were more of them, and those that hadn't paired up were clearly thinking about it.

Jess waved, and Mako moved over to join her. "Is this about to become an orgy?"

"Not quite the way you mean it." Jess shook her head, and took another gulp of her beer, feeling very mellow. "But one way or another, we get the results tomorrow."

Mako knew what that meant. Only Jager Pilots got to Drift, and it was incredibly competitive. Most of them weren't going to make it, and they all knew it. This was the last chance most of them would get.

Jess looked at Mako with a soft grin. "I know what you're thinking. It's not just about sex. Most people want... someone." She gestured around. "Most people want someone who understands them, someone they can trust, and love. We're the only ones in the world that get to skip all the crap. All the first date nonsense, all the lies, and half-truths, and all the time it takes to figure out what they mean, and what they think. Take a look inside their head, and you know on the spot if they're worth it, you know on the spot what the right thing to say is."

"Must be... nice?" Mako asked. It came out as a question.

"It's the most... accepted I've ever felt in my life." Jess said serenely. "I'm surrounded by people that are-"

"I wanna Drift." Mako interrupted. She gestured at the people pairing up. "Not for that, but... I've never Drifted, and I need to know that I can. The test says I can, but I have to know."

Jess looked around. "Do you trust me?"

Mako nodded swiftly. "I was hoping... I mean, we're best friends, right?"

"Right." Jess said with a smile.

"So, for me anyway, that's close enough to family. Closer than I usually get. If you think you'd be okay with it, then I'd like to..." Mako was almost babbling. She gestured at Tess, who was already half undressed, with Chuck on her like an octopus. "I trust you more than anyone else here."

Jess laughed, and drained her beer. "Let's roll."

Mako almost charged the recliners, and fitted the headset over her head, before Jess had even reached the Pons.

"Relax." The blonde told her with a smile. "This is going to be the closest you've ever felt to anyone."

Mako took a deep breath. "Time to know for sure." She whispered to herself, and slammed her hand down on the button.

* * *

Popcorn.

Mako blinked, her eyes closing and opening again, but the motion seemed to be in incredibly slow motion.

Popcorn. She smelled popcorn.

She was twelve years old, and she was braiding her sister's hair while watching Twilight. Tess was wearing her Jaeger Jammies, and big fluffy claw slippers, in the style of Onibaba.

Mako felt the salty, buttery taste of the popcorn on her lips; felt the love that Jess had for her sister during the moment of heartwarming family affection...

"Think I should grow mine longer?" Mako heard her voice say. Except it wasn't her voice, it was Jess.

"It's already shoulder length." Tess told her warmly. "Long blonde hair is nothing but trouble."

"Oh, like you know." Jess scorned, and Mako heard the gentle teasing tone in her own voice. No, not her voice.

 _It's okay._  Jess told her, reassuring.  _Just ride it out. This is a nice memory, there are plenty of others._

 _Jess?_  Mako asked, worried.

The memories flowed over her swiftly. Watching the news of Kaiju attacks; their mother holding them close. Seeing the rationing getting tight in their local stores, sharing their snacks with their school friends. A first kiss, a first time, a first breakup, Tess holding her and telling her she would be okay.

Everything was okay, because she had her family to look after her.

 _Shh._  Jess soothed her.  _You trust me, remember?_

Mako felt a lifetime of soothing thoughts flow over her, a whole decade of family affection and reassurance. It flowed from Jess' mind to her own, and there was no reason for that feeling to move anywhere, because Jess was right here. Wherever Mako was, Jess was too.

They were together.

"My turn." Tess said, and the twins switched places. Mako felt Tess work the comb through her hair. "You want the ribbons?"

 _Is this what it's like to be normal?_  Mako asked herself in sudden panic.  _Is this how normal girls grew up?_

 **"Something's wrong. Look at these readings."**  She heard someone say.  **"Jess? You still with us?"**

Memories of Jess at twelve years old, inevitably, brought other memories to mind. Mako's memories. And the Drift made them stronger. Jess was remembering Mako's life for the first time, and that made the memories vivid. And that vividness was shared between them. And if Jess was seeing it for the first time, so was Mako, in all the ways that mattered.

Mako felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up. Suddenly she was back in the Dojo, the night Tasmin had died.  _"We take nothing into the Drift but what we have in ourselves. But we take_ _all_ _of it."_  Stacker said firmly.

**"I can't shut it down!"**

**"Get some help! HURRY!"**

She was nine years old, with tears streaming down her face, and her hands clapped over her ears as she ran. The world was shaking apart as the monster roared. It was after her, not because it had targeted her. It chased because it was malevolent. Anything that lived; Onibaba wanted to destroy.

And Mako was the only living thing it could reach.

Jess screamed.

Mako screamed.

And somehow, the Sensei was still there, reminding her.  _"If you take wrath into the Drift, then you inflict it on your partner. Anything you can't let go, neither will they. You can't pretend bad things aren't there."_

Onibaba roared as Mako cowered behind a dumpster. Mako screamed.

Jess shrieked. The panic that Mako was sharing was bouncing off Jess. Mako was suddenly getting her panic, and Jess' panic at the same time. And Jess was getting it right back. Every instant, it went back and forth, gathering strength from the shared reaction. The sheer overload of horror amplified, and multiplied; over and over.

Mako was suddenly aware of her body convulsing. Jess's hands were reaching over her, clawing at her arms. She felt other arms pulling at her. Pulling at Jess. Pulling them apart...

**"SHUT IT DOWN!"**

The shout was fierce, but it wasn't from Mako, and it wasn't from Jess, and those were the only people in the universe. But Jess was still screaming. Or was it Mako? She couldn't tell the difference any more. She couldn't tell the difference between eating popcorn while getting her hair braided, and hiding behind a dumpster. She couldn't tell the difference between her mother's gentle voice and her first mass funeral.

**"MAKO!"**

The bellow rang through the chaos, and she clung to it. One thought floated to the top of the overload, and for a single millisecond, she knew that loud voice was real.  _Sensei?_

She heard gunshots.

And then there was a horrible, terrible wrenching, something being ripped out of her unkindly... And her surroundings suddenly became so horribly real. She ached wretchedly, every part of her rebelling.

Her senses were overloaded, like she was coming out of a dream into the end of the world...

Pentecost was there, looking furious and terrified at the same time. He was holding a gun, and pointing it at the ripped apart remains of a Drift Machine. He'd shot half a dozen holes through it. On his left was Jess' twisting, convulsing body.

Mako couldn't focus on him, her eyes rolling in different directions...

And she gratefully passed out.

* * *

Mako felt like she was falling down a long dark hole, until her vision cleared a little. There was a horrible sense of something missing. She couldn't move, couldn't even open her eyes, but she could hear machines beeping, could hear voices...

"Her EKG patterns are... stronger now, but the pattern is similar to one of the survivors. She lost something when Jess died."

"Oh, God." She heard Pentecost say, and he sounded... shattered. "How far? How deep did it go?"

"She wasn't even Drifting." Gottlieb said in wonder. "There was a barely active neural handshake. But it was... uneven. She was lucky. She was  _this_  close to being dragged along for the ride."

"The ride?"

"...with Jess." Gottlieb explained. "I don't know how else to say it. Wherever it was Jess went when she died, Mako was  _this_  close to going with her."

Mako passed out again.

* * *

She wasn't sure how long she was unconscious before she came back to the world. Before her eyes were even open she felt the great enormous feeling of being... empty. She didn't realize it at first, but she was crying.

"Shhh." A voice said softly. "Rest easy, Mako."

"Uncle Herc?" She opened her eyes. Herc Hansen was beside her bed. "Oh." She groaned. "That bad?"

"Need two Marshals for a graduation." Herc said softly, and she noticed a rolled piece of elegant paper on her bedside table. It was a diploma.

She'd slept through graduation day. "How long?"

"Long enough." Herc told her. "We canceled the ceremony. Nobody was much in the mood, after..."

Mako wanted to burst into tears but didn't have the strength. "Where's my sister?" She asked blearily, and passed out again.

* * *

Mako recovered a few days later. At least, enough to leave the MedBay. Stacker wasn't there. Everyone at the Dome knew what had happened. They all stayed well back from her. Mako didn't care. She was glad for the privacy.

The first thing she did when she came back to the Dorms was take a shower. It was an hour later when she realized how long she was still scrubbing the same spot. She gave herself a quick mental slap and got out of the shower. Part of her was scared. She'd never zoned out for over an hour before.

Mako checked her face in the mirror. She didn't look different. She didn't feel different.

Except that was a lie. She did feel different. There was something missing. It was nothing she could see. It was nothing she could identify. But something was missing.

And she didn't know what it was.

Mako kept staring into her mirror, searching deep into her eyes, searching for something. "I need..." She heard her voice say.

Mako blinked. Did she just say that? She didn't say that, did she? She looked over hr shoulder quickly, trying to figure out who had spoken. But there was nobody there.

She turned back to the mirror.

"I need..." Mako heard her voice say again. "I need to see my sister."

But she didn't have a sister...

Mako blinked, scared now. "Oh."

* * *

Tess was nearly catatonic, even a week later.

Mako came into her Medbay room. There was nobody else there. Tess was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. She wasn't crying. Mako almost wished she was crying. Her eyes didn't shift to look at her visitor. If Tess was aware of her in the room, it didn't show.

Long silence.

Mako was carrying Jess' hairbrush. She knew how to hold it, just right. She sat on the edge of the bed and started combing Tess' hair. She knew exactly how to do it, exactly how to thread her fingers through, and how hard to tug to get the knots out.

Tess started to cry then, tears rolling softly. Mako started to braid her hair. She'd never braided hair in her life, not even her own, but her hands were quick and nimble. Mako surrendered control for the first time in her life, and let Jess reach from the grave to be with her sister, one last time.

Once she was done, Tess had stopped crying. Her hand came up and covered Mako's fingers, squeezing them softly.

It was as close to a goodbye that Tess was going to get.

Mako set the brush down and left the room. She didn't say a word the entire time, and neither did Tess.

Mako felt Jess thank her, and then Jess evaporated from her mind... leaving something numb behind. Mako looked over her shoulder again. She could feel something missing behind her, but didn't know what it was.

* * *

Stacker was in the Cadets Female Dormitory, cleaning out Jess' locker when Herc Hansen came in behind him. "It was a Training Pons."

Stacker shook himself out of his thoughts. "Sorry?"

"The UnderDrift. They were using a training Pons. The kind we used to test for compatibility before the Brain Trust downstairs was able to figure out the Optic Scanner. It's functional, but that wasn't anything like a real Neural Handshake."

"It was close enough for her." Stacker gestured at Jess' Locker.

Herc came over. "Yeah."

The two commanders were silent a long moment, as Stacker collected the personal effects, placing them gently into a cardboard box. "You have any idea how much I hate this little ritual?"

"I've had to do it myself." Herc agreed quietly. He reached into the locker, and pulled out a photograph of Jess and Tess together. They looked so young and happy. "Hard to believe this was three weeks ago."

Pentecost glanced at the photo, but didn't speak.

Herc looked at him. "So. You gonna pull your head out of your ass and go see your daughter now?"

Stacker sent him a light glare. "Make yourself useful and clean out Tess' locker too, would you?"

Herc didn't move. "Stacker, this isn't one of your team talking, this is me. Have you spoken three words to Mako since you testified to the Committee?"

Pentecost froze, reaching for the locker. "I can't. I know I should, but I can't. Once she finds out her assignment, she won't ever want to speak to me again."

"Then if you had something to say to her, you should probably say it tonight." Herc said plainly. "Marshal, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, could fault you for fussing over your daughter right now. If Tasmin were here, what would she tell you?"

Stacker looked up at him, suddenly looking weary. "She  _is_  here." He reminded Herc. "She hasn't shut up about Mako for days."

Herc nodded, unsurprised. "Chuck's been transferred to me. With two of your Top Three gone... He got promoted up the Leaderboard. The Suits rubber-stamped him when they realized the only other option was Mako Mori. Looks like I'm back on Combat Rotation."

"Congratulations."

Herc hesitated. "Look, I'll have to go back to Australia soon, and I'll be taking my boy and Striker Eureka with me, but... now that I'm back on rotation; you'll be handling Command and Control from here. So that makes you my boss."

Stacker took that in and offered his hand. "I suppose it does at that."

Herc shook his hand firmly. "I know I shouldn't push this; in fact I should have shut up about it about five minutes ago; but as my last word while we're still equals: If you're right, and Mako never speaks to you again after tomorrow? What would you want the last conversation to be?"

Stacker took the question like a kick to the head. "I... I should go see Cadet Mori."

Herc glared, and didn't release the handshake.

Stacker sighed, admitting defeat. "I should... go see my daughter."

* * *

Tess didn't stay at the Base. Chuck Hansen was promoted to her spot. His father suggested he go with his girlfriend for a while, to help her settle at home. As her boyfriend, and a Drift partner, Chuck was feeling the loss of her sister as deeply as Tess or Mako. Chuck went with her, but Tess still hadn't spoken a word to anyone. Not even Chuck.

Stacker Pentecost came to see Mako, the first time he approached her outside her lessons for some time. Whatever else, Mako was a graduate, and that promoted her out of Cadet Rank. What her rank was now would be determined by her assignment, but she was entitled to her own room.

* * *

"Tess left the Dome this morning."

Mako nearly jumped out of her skin. She'd been looking at her face in the mirror for over thirty minutes, and had missed Stacker coming into the Room completely. "She did?"

If he noticed the way she jumped, he didn't mention it. "Yeah. I'll send her things on to her."

"She resigned?"

"Medical Discharge. She hasn't said a word to anyone all week, but she dressed herself this morning and responded to stimuli, so the Med-Teams are hopeful."

Mako didn't question that. In his time as Marshal, he had personally packed up the lockers and personal effects of all those who died under his command.

Stacker placed Jess' hairbrush on the sink in front of her. "Tess left this behind. I think she wanted you to have it."

Mako nodded softly. "Jess wanted to see her sister. I think she got what she wanted, so she's not yelling at me any more." Mako said softly. "I don't remember much more than that. I don't... I feel like I've forgotten something important."

Stacker nodded. "That's... lucky. That's the best possible outcome you could have had. Believe me, you could have lost a lot more."

Mako didn't have an answer to that. Stacker had an intimate knowledge of how much she could have lost.

"For the record, each member of the Class that we found in the UnderDrift will receive a reprimand on their record. We should give you all failing grades, but the Review Board has considered who would be left with all our top ten kicked out; and Marshal Hansen was able to convince them that you've learned your lesson from Jess a hell of a lot better than anything we could dish out."

Mako nodded. He was being so... calm about it. "I screwed up."

Pentecost stayed calm. "It was a significant error in judgment."

Mako looked at him, feeling like he'd slapped her. "That's what you've got for me? An 'error'? I  _killed_  that poor girl."

"It was an accident." Stacker allowed.

Mako glared at him in the mirror. "I get that things can't be the way they were. I know you have to be detached while I'm under your command... But if I  _were_  any other Cadet you'd be tearing me apart right now."

"You didn't know."

"I let my best friend into my head... my  _only_  friend, in fact; and she  _literally_  could not  _survive_  the touch of my toxic soul." Mako hissed bitterly. "You should have kicked us all out of the Dome."

"On what charge?" Stacker shot back. "The Training Pons hasn't been used in years, but when it  _was_  being used in Training; it was available to any advanced recruit, which all parties in the UnderDrift were. You are allowed to use the equipment after hours, so you weren't actually violating any regs, except for operating sensitive equipment without supervision. The drinking and the partying was all done during your personal time, so it's not against regs either. Using equipment without supervision is a misdemeanor under the regs. Mako... Misdemeanors can affect your rating, but all nine of you were there, so taking all your scores down the same amount means nothing to the standings."

"Even when someone died as a result?" She demanded. "Tell me you weren't fixing it. Tell me that they didn't let me off the hook because I was your kid."

"They didn't let you off the hook."

She tensed. "What do you mean?"

Stacker blew right past that. "Mako... How long have you been living in Shatterdomes? You know as well as I do that we lose a few recruits every other year. It's a dangerous business, and Jess volunteered. So did you, so did everyone there. In fact, we made you jump through fourteen hoops just to be allowed to volunteer."

She looked at him. He had no expression, which wasn't unusual, but right now he was struggling to keep it that way. His face was like a mask; hiding what was under it. He was being so damn... respectful that she wanted to scream, getting more and more worked up. "I made her sister into a vegetable! I did to her what Onibaba did to you and Tasmin, and nothing changes for me? Dammit, Stacker-"

"Plenty of things have changed. And it's Marshal Pentecost to you, Cadet." His eyes were blazing, but his expression hadn't changed. Something was building in him too.

"If I had done this three years ago you would have let me have it!" Mako raged, hot tears on her face as she switched to Japanese.

His poker face was getting more strained. "Three years ago, you were my responsibility, now you are an adult, and-"

"Sensei!" She said to him for the first time in years. "Say what you want to say to me!"

He finally cracked. "YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME!" Stacker almost screamed.

The sudden roar shocked them both into deathly silence.

There was a long, long silence, with both of them breathing hard.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I WANT TO LET YOU HAVE IT!" He roared. "You worked so hard, gave up so much, treated everyone around you like obstacles to be knocked down for so long, and you damn near killed yourself when you were right at the finish line! Do you have any idea how close it was? Another two seconds and I would have been cleaning out your locker too! I am so mad at you I can barely  _breathe_! But I can't do that, because you decided you wanted me as your Commander  _more_  than your father! Don't get mad at me because you can't have it both ways!" The eruption hadn't stopped. Three years of things unsaid was pouring out of him. In fact, it was the most words she had ever heard him use. "Did you never wonder why I never told you that things like The UnderDrift happened in every Dome? Did you think I never tried it? Have I ever hid anything from you, Mako? Do you have any idea where I'd be at right now if you died?"

She was staring at him, oddly delighted. Her father was furious. It was the most she'd gotten from him since her eighteenth birthday, and now he was cracking on her again, quarreling with her... It was the most emotion he had shown since Tasmin died. Even before he'd finished shouting, she had pounced forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck in a crushing hug. She was almost clinging to him, but he didn't hold her back. He hadn't so much as held her hand since Tasmin had died. That was what he had lost.

"I'm sorry." Mako nearly cried. "I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise!"

"I wasn't mad about that. I knew you would, and I wasn't even surprised." Pentecost whispered back. "But you should have said goodbye."

"I know!" Mako said instantly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

They said nothing for a while. He still had a good two feet of height on her. Hugging him around the neck, she had actually been picked up off the ground when he finally hugged her back. He set her down.

"Not a good result for my first Drift." Mako sighed finally.

Stacker almost laughed at her. "Mako, that wasn't a Drift. I saw the numbers. You can't complete the Drift without a Jaeger to buffer the feed. That was barely the start of a Neural Handshake. You were connected at less than eight percent. You need at least forty percent before you can call it Drifting."

Mako blinked. "Eight percent?" She repeated blankly.  _If that was eight, what would forty feel like? Most pilots Drift at seventy percent or more._

Stacker nodded, like he was reading her mind. "You haven't Drifted yet. You sure you want to keep going?"

"Yes." Mako said without so much as blinking.

Stacker let out a breath. "How did I know you'd say that?" He asked rhetorically.

It was the exact same conversation she'd had with Tasmin, and the exact same result.

Mako looked over her shoulder again, expecting to see something, but there was nothing there. It was happening so often lately she barely noticed she was doing it any more.

"That will fade." Stacker promised her. "The Neural Handshake wasn't complete; her neurons didn't take. Not all the way. She'll leave you alone sooner or later. Maybe a few weeks."

"She never leaves you alone, does she?" Mako whispered. She wasn't talking about Jess.

Stacker didn't respond right away. "Mako... you know that I would never do anything to hurt you." He said softly.

Mako nodded. "I know."

"And you know that I... I only want what's best for you."

"I know." He had stopped short of using the word 'love'. Tasmin had warned her that he would. Mako never understood why until now. Jess life had been softer and more full of love than hers. With Jess gone, the part of Mako that shared those feelings was gone too. At least, in part. And they hadn't even been Drifting.

And Stacker had loved Tasmin more than anything.

Stacker finally brought his hands up to hug her in return, just for a second. "Mako... just remember, that I made you a promise. I promised you that your turn would come. I meant that. Beyond that, your safety is important to me. Maybe the most important thing."

"I know." Mako promised in return.

He didn't let go of her hands. "The  _most_  important thing." He repeated. "I have to keep you safe. You above all the Pacific Rim, and the entire human race."

She was a little unnerved by the intensity of his stare. "I... I know."

It wasn't until the next day that she knew what he meant, and why it was so important that he tell her so.

* * *

The UnderDrift stayed closed. Graduation had been done quietly, without the ceremony. The Cadets had all been given their scores, and everyone but Mako had been promoted two places in the rankings. The sudden shift meant that the UN Committee had more meetings to take, and those that remained were now in a sort of limbo, waiting to find out where they'd be placed in the Dome.

Mako sat with Chuck at breakfast. It was the first time she had voluntarily approached him in quite a while. Chuck barely looked at her. He had gotten harder since Tess had left. Mako wondered if he mourned Jess as a fellow recruit, or as a sibling, the way Tess did; given that he had Drifted with her too.

Mako came over with her tray... and noticed a bulldog sitting on the floor at his feet. "Max!"

The dog looked up at her, but didn't come trotting over. It just looked up at her voice, and sank back to the floor, uninterested.

Chuck sent Mako a look that dared her to comment. He had gone with Tess to get her settled at home... and returned with her dog. "The Doctors say that I should say away." He told Mako coldly. "They say it would be a bad idea to have reminders of the Dome around for a while. So I had to go. The Dog was apparently Jess' choice, so..."

Mako didn't know quite what to say. "Is she..." She tried. "Is she haunting you, too?"

Chuck's already hard face turned to a complete stone wall. "No."

She knew he was lying. She reached out and squeezed his hand.

Chuck just glared and pushed her hand away. She offered Max some bacon off her tray, and the dog took it, listlessly. Even the dog was in mourning. She wondered if the animal was smart enough to know it was all her fault.

"I wanted to..." Mako tried to get the words out. "Chuck, I know we were never exactly close, but we were friends for a long time. I hope that one day..."

"I made the cut." Chuck said tightly. "With Tess and Jess both gone, I made it to the Top Three."

Mako nodded weakly. "There was less than a tenth of a percent difference in your scores."

Chuck pushed his food away. "Oh, well. That makes it all better."

Mako wasn't sure if he was feeling guilty about taking Tess' place, or hating her for making everything he wanted suddenly attainable, in the worst possible way. She stood up. "This was a mistake." She said shortly. "I just wanted to... say I was sorry for what you lost."

Chuck didn't soften. "What  _I_  lost? I got everything I came here for. Tess was the one that lost. Go apologize to her. Then duck."

Mako felt tears building in her eyes. Chuck was right. He hated her now, and he was right. And for the first time since she was a little girl... Mako ran away.

* * *

Mako came back to her room. She had a message waiting on her tablet and she checked it. The Dome had an internal mail server, for security reasons. Someone had sent her a message, but rigged it to be anonymous. That in itself wasn't a cause for concern. More than two thirds of the staff knew how to block email.

She opened the email. There was no message, just a video file. She opened it.

The video was of a meeting full of people that Mako recognized. It was the UN Committee. Mako felt her heartrate spike automatically. The results would be announced in the morning, but this video was of the decision being made. It was a surveillance shot, taken from the security cameras.

And in the middle of the frame, was Stacker Pentecost.

 _"And lastly, we have Cadet Mako Mori."_  Pentecost was addressing the room.  _"Her file is in front of you, along with some of her biographical data. Some Press Clippings are included. It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that I am personally involved with her career, and her progression in the program. For the record, the Council has been made aware of it, and her advancement has been included in all my own oversight reviews, to ensure that there is no chance of favoritism."_

 _"That is understood, Marshal."_  Someone off-camera assured him.  _"But nevertheless, you know her better than anyone. Do you have anything to say regarding her suitability for The Program?"_

Mako held her breath.

Stacker gave his testimony. _"I have known Miss Mori since she was ten years old. In that time, I have been impressed by her single minded determination to a single goal. Her perfectionist tendencies can set your teeth on edge, but she accepts nothing less than total success in anything she puts her mind to. Not once, in the nine years I have known her, has her focus wavered from the goal of becoming the single greatest asset the human race has in the Kaiju War. Her scores are not a fluke, or an error. She has the highest rating of any of our candidates. She is a Prodigy, in the truest meaning of the word."_

Mako felt her shoulders straighten... until it became clear that The Sensei was not finished.

_"Unfortunately, this single-mindedness is also the problem. I had hoped that time would help her grow out of her rage, and that being part of the our world, surrounded by like-minded people, would heal some of what had been lost with her family; but her obsession has only grown more and more consuming in the years I have known her. She has sought very few friendships, no relationships, no hobbies or personal interests..."_

_"Even the friends she did have were part of the Cadet Program."_  Someone interrupted.  _"And I have a report from Cadet Hansen stating that she took foolish risks with them to further her goals of becoming a Pilot. Is this point in error?"_

 _"No sir."_  Stacker said honestly.  _"What happened with Cadets Jessica and Tessa Leighton was an accident. One that could have been prevented perhaps, but an honest accident nonetheless. And, respectfully; that's not on the table. That matter has been dealt with already."_

_"It has. But does this accident affect your testimony?"_

_"No sir. Not even a little bit."_

_"Then please continue."_

_"Mako is tremendously capable, incredibly knowledgeable, creative, adaptable... and her obsession with killing Kaiju borders on the pathological. Were this a regular war, that madness would only be helpful on the battlefield. Were it possible to drive a Jaeger alone, I would put her in the deadliest one we have and stand well out of the way... But that is not the nature of the Kaiju conflict, or of Jaeger piloting. Her mind and heart are not balanced. She is, in a very real sense, half a person already. Ironically, her furious need to pilot a Jaeger is the only thing keeping her from piloting a Jaeger. If the Kaiju war were over tomorrow, I don't know what she would become... And I cannot in good conscience recommend someone that has so much fury in them as a viable Drift Partner for anyone... as recent events have demonstrated."_ He sounded heartsick.  _"It is my position that Mako Mori is_ _not_ _suitable for the Jaeger Pilot Program."_

Mako very slowly switched off her screen, and returned to staring at the mirror.

* * *

Stacker Pentecost came to Mako's room and knocked a few hours later. The Committee had made their choice. His testimony had made all the difference, and he wanted to be the one to tell her.

But when he opened the door, he realized she already knew.

The room had been all but demolished. Her every poster, textbook, figurine, Training-Sims... all of it had been torn apart.

There was only one thing that remained intact. It was the only symbol of rebellion and anger that Mako had reserved for her Sensei. It was a message and an accusation. She knew that he'd spoken out against her. Stacker shrank with a cold sigh, as his nose started bleeding again.

Sitting on Mako's workbench was an empty bottle of blue hair dye.

* * *

She stayed away all night.

The dye-job on her bright blue hair wasn't even dry by the time she started walking. She didn't want to requisition a ride. She didn't want to talk to anyone; she just wanted to get away from people. She walked for a while, not really noticing anything. Eventually she looked up and found she was in town. She had walked almost five miles in the middle of the night and hadn't even been aware of it.

There was a pay-phone in the distance, and she went to it. She stared at the keypad for a minute, and finally punched in a number.

"Hello?" Moira's voice answered. She sounded exhausted.

Mako tried to say something. She couldn't.

Moira didn't say anything either. The silence stretched. "Well." She said finally. "If this was a reporter, or another official, or another condolence call, or a damn telemarketer, or even a stalker, you'd have said something or hung up by now. So I guess it must be you, Mako."

Mako gripped the pay-phone so tightly she heard it creak.

"I don't know what to say either." Moira said quietly. "I told you to protect my babies out there. I forgot that... that the lives you live aren't ones where you can make promises like that. There are no promises in combat. Or even in training for combat."

Mako was breathing hard.

"I don't forgive you." Moira said tightly. "I want to. But I can't just yet. I don't have three kids any more. That's... not something I can let go of. But I  _want_  to forgive you. That's the best I can do right now. Now, do me a favor... and hang up the phone."

Mako obeyed, and turned away from the phone. She knew she'd said goodbye to Mama-Moira forever.

She had no friends to stay with, no family left. One of the Refugee Centres would take her in overnight, but she refused to take a bed from people who needed it. Hotels would, and she could afford a night in a good one, but she was PPDC, and they were required by law to provide contact details at all times. If she didn't call home, the Hotel would.

Mako kept walking.

* * *

She found the Memorial. Every town had one. The Kaiju War was taking its toll, and every community had a list of names. Mako barely remembered visiting the 9/11 Memorial as a child, but the Kaiju Memorials were always many times larger. Millions of names, instead of hundreds.

The Memorials near Shatterdomes were different. The names of Pilots were kept in a place of honor. Mako went to the Jaeger memorial. She knew all their names.

Yancy Beckett was listed. Mako rested her fingers over the name. There was a space beneath it, just enough room for one name. They were saving the place for his brother. Mako shivered at the thought.

At the base of the Pilot Memorial was a row of candles, protected from the weather. She knelt at the candles and bowed her head.

"I wanted to..." She began, and licked her lips. She started over, this time in Japanese. "My father believed in the old ways. He prayed to his...  _our_ Ancestors for protection and guidance." She looked up. "I don't know if you can hear me, or if you're there at all. But if you're listening, then I hope Jess is with you. Tell her I'm sorry." Mako felt a tear gathering in her eye. "And... if she's there, then Tasmin is too. Tell her that she was right. She told me, the moment we met, that everyone in the world has a right to be as angry as I am; but I acted like my pain was worse than theirs."

The Memorial was an ironic place to admit it out loud. A list of every person that someone in this town had lost.

Mako broke down crying. "I thought that I was justified. I thought that I knew the meaning of life, because the War was all that mattered. Everyone tried to talk me out of it.  _Everyone_  told me over and over how much the war demanded in exchange. I was told, over and over that people would be hurt, win or lose, and that my future was to be a vegetable or a victim, and I didn't care, because I was so sure."

The wind picked up then, just enough for the cold to get under the small shelters, and extinguish a single candle.

"Jess paid the price for my... madness. The only friend I ever had. And... Chuck's right. Wanting to be close with her had nothing to do with it. It never occurred to me that it might be dangerous to someone else. No matter how many times someone told me that it's like winning two lotteries..." Mako spoke to the Dead, seeking absolution. "I've burned everything that ever loved me and threw the rest away, all in the name of revenge on monsters so big that they don't even know I exist." She wiped her eyes. "I thought... I thought I was the Sword. The Steel Samurai. I was wrong."

 _"...Mako."_  Whispered a voice.

Mako spun around, but there was nobody there. It had been Jess' voice. Mako squeezed her eyes shut. Jess' neural paths were still in her brain, firing off. Sometimes it was like listening to her think. Sometimes it was like she was Jess.

Mako shook it off, and turned back to the Memorial. "Ancestors, spirit guides... Any gods or goddesses that might be listening... I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!" She almost screamed the last two words. "I won't... I won't be a pilot. I promised my Sensei once, and I broke that promise, because it was like trying to push back the ocean. There's no point in promising anything now. I'll never get there... and for the first time, I think that might be a good thing. I've ended friends, families, co-workers and allies; all in the name of the War. And I did it all, not caring that I was lacking the most important part."

Jess came back to her then.  _"You never had a partner, because you never looked to anyone else. You focused everything on yourself, Mako. You wouldn't let me in. Not the way a Drift demands. So the only thing I got was..."_

"Onibaba." Mako finished. "The last time I cried out for someone else to save me."

 _"Would it have been so terrible, to have someone in your life that you could meet halfway?"_ Jess asked her sadly.

Mako sniffed. "I would have, if I'd just..." She looked down. "Jess, if you had known? If I had opened up, let you in, done it right... Would you still have done it, if you knew what you'd find?"

For a split second, Mako felt like Jess' arms were going around her in a tight hug.  _"I love you, Mako! Of course I would have! That's what love is; to know someone's every sin, and accept them completely anyway. That's the power of friendship, a power that grows, the more it is shared."_

Mako smiled, just a little. "I wish I could hug you back."

_"I know."_

"What do I do now?" Mako whispered. "I don't know who I am when I'm not an apprentice, or a Cadet. I've never been, or ever  _thought_  about being anything else. What am I now, if I'm not the Sword?"

_"Don't you know?"_

Jess evaporated again, as Mako wiped her tears. She knew she wasn't speaking to the dead. But what was left of Jess was in her head now, even if only a little while. Mako hadn't asked forgiveness, and Jess hadn't offered it. Only love.

* * *

It was the first reprimand to appear on Mako's record, when she failed to show up the next day at Roll Call.

When she came back to her room, she found her orders waiting for her. She had been assigned to Reconstruction and Repair. She supposed that made sense. She knew the Jaegers better than most of the designers by this point. She could build one with her eyes closed. The thought of it made her want to retch. Instead of being part of the fight, she'd build the war machines for other people to fight in.

* * *

"So, you scrubbed out, huh?" A voice commented as she came out of her room.

Mako felt her stomach sour further. "Go away, Chuck."

"Scrubbed out with bleach, from what I hear." Chuck Hansen fell into step behind her. "Still, look on the bright side. You don't get a Jaeger, but your hair is blue."

She elbowed him away, pushing on. He kept pace with her.

"Now now, don't be mean. Just because the Marshall's Pet got demoted from 'Super-Prodigy' to Human Wrench, that doesn't mean-"

Mako swung her foot out and tripped him. He recovered quickly. Mako hadn't even broken stride. "It was you that sent me the video, wasn't it?"

"Video? Me?" Chuck grinned. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I can't believe I was feeling sympathy for you." Mako spat. "When in doubt, attack. I get that. I do that myself. But what you did? That was just cruel."

"Cruel?" Chuck responded. "No. Cruel is taking an innocent kid like her, and pouring a  _lifetime_  of your kind of crazy into her head. Cruel is beating yourself into a damn samurai sword for ten years, and then inflicting all that punishment on a sweetie, who just wanted to help you out and be a better friend. Cruel is never warning her what it was like in your head, let alone your past. Cruel is thinking that Jess could hack it, just because you decided you could use the UnderDrift as one more step in your goddam crusade. Cruel is taking Tess down with her."

Mako froze, staring at Chuck. "Chuck, I know you loved Tess. I loved them both too." She said slowly. "What I did was unforgivable, but it was an accident."

Chuck was merciless. "Tell me something, Mako. Did you want to Drift with her because she was the closest friend you had in this place, or was it that you were told you couldn't be a Pilot Solo, and Jess was the only one stupid enough to volunteer as your first Drift Partner?"

Mako felt sick. Chuck was right. She had viewed it as a necessary part of becoming a pilot, and Jess had volunteered instantly because she thought it would be fun. Mako was gearing for war, and Jess was looking for a fun ride with her best friend.

The UnderDrift was supposed to be fun, and Mako had approached it as a Training Sim. And she'd never even suggested that to Jess... Which cost her life.

Chuck nodded, seeing he'd just got through to her. "Every word that the Marshall said was true. And maybe, just maybe, you'll get that through your head before you get someone else killed."

Mako started marching again. She brought her foot down a lot harder as she walked, trying to break his foot. He stepped aside nimbly. "Still a short fuse." He taunted. "That's why they kicked you out, you know. Where in the world could they find someone with as much temper as you?"

Mako glanced around, and noted that the corridor they were in was empty. She spun on him, getting right in his face. "Nowhere! Get the point? There's nobody in the world as pissed off as I am. You sure you want to be smug with me, right now?"

Chuck didn't even blink. "They gave me and dad Striker Eureka."

Mako felt the last tiny pieces of her world come crashing down.  _No! Anything but that!_

Chuck took the envelope out of her hand, and calmly read it. She didn't even have the will to stop him. "Ahh, the Reconstruction Project, huh? Tricking out the obsolete models? Well, it's either that or melt them down into panels for The Wall, I guess." He held up the page. "It says you're to report to Tendo Choi. You're gonna go down there and ram this envelope down his throat, ain't ya?"

Mako snatched it back and stormed for the elevator. Even Chuck had the sense not to follow her into a small metal box alone.

* * *

She came off the elevator and froze. The Jaeger Bay was the insult made injury. The elevator doors opened and everywhere she looked, she saw nothing but Jagers. Gleaming, powerful, ready. They were unbeatable, immortal... unreachable. She would spend her career making them perfect, and handing them to Chuck Hansen. It was the worst slap in the face she'd ever had.

And as much as she wanted to convince Sensei that he was wrong, and she would be a good pilot... She knew he wouldn't say yes. And she already knew that she'd never be able to stand being this close. It was like she was starving to death and looking through a window at a feast. A feast that someone she hated would enjoy.

Within thirty seconds of reaching the Jaeger Bays, she knew she'd never be able to stay here. It would be torture.

She marched forward, fully intending to cram the folded envelope down Tendo's throat... when all her fury left her. All her rage had done was disqualify her, and destroy Jess.

It was the hardest, strangest way to finally grow out of her rage. But the catharsis was real. Mako had finally recognized her anger as being nothing but painful and destructive; it had gained her nothing... and she didn't want it any more.

For the first time in ten years, the suffocating anger that she felt for the Kaiju was gone, leaving her... what? Numb? Tranquil?

She didn't know the answer yet, but she knew she couldn't face Tendo or Stacker until she had  _something_.

* * *

She returned to the elevator, and hit the button to close the door. The elevator didn't move, and she took a deep calming breath.

With her anger gone, and the torn wreck of her life in it's wake, Mako had a sudden realization.

"I don't want to be a pilot any more." She breathed. For a long moment, she stopped, searching her mind for any sign of Jess' influence, because that thought couldn't come from her head, could it?

"I don't want to be a pilot any more." She said again, and it felt... good. Yes, she still wanted to fight the Kaiju, and she still wanted to be useful. The loss of her family was still clear and bright... but her furious rage was gone.

"Jess!" She blurted, realizing suddenly. All her rage against the Monsters had been poured into Jess. It had taken Jess' life, but when Jess had died... all the wrath went with her.

Mako almost laughed, wondering why she hadn't seen it before. Stacker had lost so much of himself when Tasmin died. And Mako had lost a big chunk of herself too.

And without that fury...

"I don't want to be a Jaeger Pilot any more." She said again, feeling more certain about it.

With her wrath gone, she looked back at her life with fresh eyes. She had cast aside so much, given up so much, hurt so many people, and destroyed so many lives.

Her grand obsession was... at rest.

* * *

She came out of the elevator again, not to attack, but to hand her orders back to Tendo, and give him her resignation. The rest of the staff would be glad for it. The other Cadets would be glad to have her gone...

… and then she looked up, and found Gipsy Danger had been moved into Bay Three.

The reconstruction project was a joke. Kaiju were evolving too fast. A MK-3 had no hope of surviving battle, let alone winning it.

Then she noticed the Coat of Arms. In the torn metal, pitted with marks and scrapes, it was hard to see for a moment, but she recognized it instantly. She had designed it. As a little girl, The Sensei had noticed her sketching Kaiju and Jaegers on her tablet over lunch in a Boneslum Restaurant... And apparently he'd painted one on Gipsy Danger.

It made her oddly sad that she hadn't known about it. She would have loved to have seen it before. She would have felt more... connected to the machine.

 _And now we're as connected as we've ever been._  She thought miserably.  _Two broken and discarded warriors._

The Beckett Brothers came to mind then, and Mako felt her stomach quiver. Gipsy Danger had been piloted solo... So had Coyote Tango, though admittedly, not for long, and not without something terrible happening...

She shook the thought off. She wasn't going to be a pilot, and certainly not a solo one. She didn't want that for herself. Not anymore.

The others saw her, and they stepped aside, giving her a wide berth as she came to the feet of Gipsy Danger. She was insignificant next to the machine, but it had been torn, ripped apart, and the huge War Machine was bowed, hanging from its chain supports. It was a Steel Samurai, beaten and bowed. Mako stared up into its shattered face, looking into its eyes.

And just for a second, she knew with absolute certainty that it was looking back at her.

She looked past the panel with the wrecked coat of arms, and noticed another box. One that hadn't been there before. It had only a few things in it. A boot, covered in dried blood. A broken Suit Helmet, with the visor shattered... And a photograph.

The picture in the photograph was of the Beckett family. One of the brothers was the man in her dream.

She had seen his picture before, of course. Everyone had seen the active Jaeger pilots at some point in their lives. Pilots were rock stars. The Beckett's had been off rotation for years. They'd fallen out of the public mind. Mako had never met them face to face.

So why was the late Yancy Beckett in her dreams every night?

She looked up at the shattered Machine. As with every other time, she felt it staring back.

"What are you telling me?" Mako whispered. "You were the Bridge between Soul Mates, but they are broken now. You'll never get them back, even if you were at your best again. What do you want from me?"

Gipsy Danger never spoke to her in a way she could understand, and that did not change now.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Mako hissed to it in Japanese, so soft she could barely hear it herself. "They've written you off. They've written us both off. I'm an underage Ronin, and you're a broken machine with the most important parts missing."

Even as she said it, the thought came to her.  _No, not missing parts._ _One_ _missing part. Yancy Beckett is missing. All else is replaceable._

She wasn't sure if she'd said that, or if her dream was worming into her waking mind.

Somewhere in her mind, as though from a Drift Hangover, she could hear Gipsy Danger whispering a war cry that nobody else seemed to hear.

Mako felt a single tear gathering at the corner of her eye. She suddenly understood what the dream meant. "I can find a new path." She whispered to the machine. "It will be hard, but I can find a new way." She bowed her head. "But you can't, can you? There are no old Jaegers. They all get hacked up and used for parts. You don't have a path, or a future, unless..."

She looked back to the coat of arms. She'd designed it as a little girl. And in a week, it would be hacked up, polished away to nothing. And even this tiny contribution, this tiny piece of her life, would be washed away as if it had never existed. Just like Gipsy Danger.

She craned her neck back to look at its face. She looked at its broken eyes. She was in the same pose she had taken as she prayed at the Memorial, and suddenly she realized.

"You were the Sword." She whispered, realizing something that made all the chaos in her head crystallize into a perfect shape. "In my dream, my father and uncle came together to forge the perfect sword. That was the third factor; the bridge that brought them together. You're the Sword that brought the two Beckett Brothers together."

Gipsy Danger said nothing, as if waiting for her.

"I'm not the Sword. I'm the Swordmaker." Mako said, almost weeping. It was a thunderbolt. A divine revelation about her purpose in the cosmos. Somewhere out there, two Soul Mates were waiting to be drawn together. As the Sword had done for her father and uncle, Gipsy Danger would merge two Samurai...

But Gipsy Danger was broken, shattered. The Sword of the Human Race needed repair, as her father had done before her.

"All right." She declared, barely audible. She was bowed, nearly kneeling, seeking absolution from the one thing in the base that she felt any kinship with. "All right. I'll stay. I'll hate it. I'll hate watching other people go out to fight, but I'll deal. I'll stay at the Dome. For you."

It felt ridiculous, pledging her loyalty and love to a broken machine destined for the scrap pile. There were a thousand better Steel Samurai on the drawing boards. A dozen superior machines already in play. There were a dozen better recruits, ones that had made it through the Program in triumph. And here, out of the way, was Mako Mori and Gipsy Danger, swearing a blood oath to each other.

"We're neither of us their first choice. In fact, we're both tossed aside for salvage already." She whispered in Japanese. "But I'll stay, for you. I'll fix you." She promised. "I'll fix you, and we'll show them what their scraps can do." She smiled, just a little, resting her hands on the feet of the huge metal body. "We'll show them all."

"Mako."

She turned smartly, her hands falling away from the metal skin to her sides as she came smoothly to attention. Tendo was standing behind her. If he noticed that her hair was now completely neon blue again, he didn't let it show on his face. "You've heard, then?"

She held out the envelope, though it was a little bit crushed in her grip. "Academy Graduate Mako Mori, reporting for duty."

"Part of me expected you to cram that envelope down my throat." Tendo observed.

Mako smiled sweetly for the first time in years. "Now, why would I do such a thing?"


	7. The End Of The World

When Mako Mori was twenty one, she sold herself to the Kaiju Cult.

Tendo Choi had taught her everything he knew about the Mark 3 series. Mako had been trained on Mark 4's, but basics were still that basics. Components didn't change, alloys and design did.

Gipsy Danger was a wreck. After her last battle, it had staggered back to landfall, with enough holes torn through it that the lone survivor was suffering from mild hypothermia. The leg had fallen off mid transport, and the engineering department still didn't know how it had managed to hold together long enough to walk.

Mako had read the recovery report a dozen times. After Gipsy had made landfall, the recovery team had hauled it back out into the water to cool it off. The nuclear turbine was cracked, the coolant was gone. Four people had suffered acute radiation poisoning just going inside to shut the core down.

What sections of the hull had survived the battle had been hacked apart in ten foot squares by every salvage crew to get near her.

Mako was the most junior member of the repair team. She knew more than most of the veterans, but getting a Jaeger reconstructed was a difficult and expensive process. Cheaper than building a new one, but it was generally understood that new Jaegers were the only ones that had a prayer against whatever the Breach spat out next.

After bullying, begging, protesting, reasoning and sneaking behind the back of her commanding officer, Mako had managed to get Gipsy Danger disassembled for repairs. The Head and Torso were intact, the hull being patched with new alloys. The arms and legs were all removed, and currently in various stages of assembly.

Mako had been put in charge of training new recruits to the Recovery Teams, and was using Gipsy Danger as her lessons. Mako oversaw every bolt, every weld, every mechanic and technician. Gipsy Danger was being restored to her standards, but getting the five separate parts put back together into one functional Steel Samurai was proving to be difficult.

* * *

"Waste of time."

Mako turned to stone. She hadn't heard that voice in over a year. She rose from the Conn-Pod pedestal, where she was repairing electrical conduits. "Hello, Chuck. When did you get back?"

"About an hour ago. The Old Man's brewing up something serious." Chuck Hansen strolled in. "So, this is where they put you, hm?"

"I volunteered." Mako said politely. "Gipsy Danger still has some fight in her."

"Can't believe this thing even supports a Drift." Chuck commented, looking around. "I mean, who builds a nuclear powered machine,  _and_ keeps all the systems analogue?"

"A very smart person." Mako retorted. "The MK-3 series was being designed back when some countries were still buying nukes on the black market in case a Kaiju ever came after them. One of those smaller countries decides to set off a warhead, and any Jaeger close enough to actually try and fight the target gets shut down by the EMP. We lost a MK-2 that way."

Chuck had the decency to look embarrassed. "Oh. Right. Forgot about Black Thunder."

"You forgot?" Mako repeated.

He glared. "Not all of us spent our evenings memorizing encyclopedias and our days smashing metal together. Some people actually have to protect the planet."

Her relationship with Chuck had not returned to anything approaching amicable since Jess died. Mako never returned his anger with her own, because she blamed herself for Jess as much as he did. But her loss, and what it did to Tess, had made Chuck harder, harsher, and a lot less patient. In the time since that disaster, a lot of the staff had been cycled in and out of the Dome, and the majority of people in the South Pacific and Sydney Domes didn't know why he acted that way. They just assumed he was a thug, and he gave them no reason to doubt it as time marched on.

"Gipsy Danger works because it's streamlined." Mako told him. "The digital Jaegers need their cores and their circuits and their motherboards replaced every time there's something approaching an upgrade. The Analogues are still as good as they were when they were constructed."

"Yeah, ten years ago." Chuck shot back. "When Kaiju were still Cat-1 or Cat-2. When you've got a Battleship, who needs a tugboat?"

Mako restrained herself from punching him. He wasn't sure if Chuck truly felt that way, or if he just wanted to be mad at her again. She could have wiped that smug look off his face. She didn't.

"Chuck, go check in." Herc's voice commanded from the Conn-Pod entrance. Chuck straightened his shoulders automatically when he heard his father's voice, and turned on his heel, stalking out. Herc came in and both he and Mako looked around discreetly. They had privacy enough that Herc relaxed into an easy smile. "How's my best girl?"

Mako smiled back, happy to see her almost-uncle. "Better." She admitted. She hadn't seen him since Jess died. "Back on duty."

Herc nodded and jerked a thumb after his son. "Him too. A little occupational therapy never hurt anyone."

"Four kills in four drops?" Mako commented. "It's quite an occupation."

Herc chuckled. "You've been keeping score. I'm touched."

"And he's wrong, by the way. Gipsy isn't a tugboat. Compared with Striker Eureka, she may be an old lady, but... She's not a tubgoat. She's an Ironclad. Still as tough as she ever was. Ironclads are slower, but they're still every bit as bulletproof."

Herc held up both hands in surrender. "I agree. I agree with you. Russia's still using MK-1's along their coastline."

Mako nodded. "I know. Does Chuck understand that?"

"I'm honestly not sure." Herc commented. "If you don't mind my asking, if you were all riled up when Chuck insulted your girl, why didn't you say anything to him?"

Mako winced. "You know why."

"Chuck hasn't... recovered." Herc excused his son. "I'm not sure which pieces went with Jess, but it just brought out more of the Chuck in Chuck." He let a breath out between his teeth. "His mother, rest her soul; was much better at this. I never know if he needs a swift kick up the ass or a hug."

"Neither do I, but I know it's my fault. Insulting my job ain't nothing compared to what I did." Mako said quietly. "And Gipsy isn't 'my girl'. Even if I can talk Commander Clay into re-certification, I won't be driving her."

"Re-certification? Mako... No chance." Herc told her gently. "She's a Class 3, and we haven't seen anything less than a Category 4 in months. Putting Gipsy back on the front lines is a death sentence."

"Wanna bet?" Mako said with loyalty to her favorite machine. "Besides, getting her put in play is the easy part, once I get her put back together."

Herc raised an eyebrow. "You think you can talk Clay into doing either?"

"Watch me."

* * *

"Miss Mori, it's not that I don't agree with you, I just don't see the point." Clay told her pointedly.

Mako kept her emotions in check. Commander Clay was her superior officer, and head of the Recovery/Reconstruction Division at the Alaska Dome. That made him the final authority on what was done with wrecked Jaegers. While he knew full well that he was overruling the Marshal's Daughter, his department was the easiest one to pass over with an ever shrinking budget.

"I don't need to tell you how tight the budget is." Clay continued. "The kind of money and time you're trying to put into Gipsy Danger is admirable, but... frankly, I don't see the point. It'll never fight again. Why make it better than new?"

Mako knew that telling him about her dreams and her 'Blood Oath' would be worse than bad. Fortunately, the debate was not a new one, and she'd had time to prepare. "What's the most time consuming part of Jaeger Production?"

"Field Testing." Clay nodded.

"What's the most expensive part?"

"Construction."

"What causes the most waste in man-hours?"

"Re-Design Mid-Construction." Clay nodded, still following along.

"What causes the most problems and delays during field testing?" Mako led him where she needed him to go.

"Design flaws."

Mako nodded. "If only we had a Jaeger that was already constructed, field tested and proven to be without design flaws. One that only had to test  _new_  parts,  _new_  alloys and  _new_  weapons. One that we didn't expect to put back into the field."

"And if only we had an extra fifty million dollars to make it happen." Clay finished for her. He let out a breath between his teeth. "It's a good idea, turning an older Jaeger into a test dummy... but we can't even afford to keep the-"

"I know that!" Mako interrupted, feeling the ground grow weak under her feet. "But if I can just show you this?" She held up a clipboard. "I've run the numbers. A bad field test sets us back a few days until we can retest, a design flaw means we've got a combat Jaeger off rotation until we can replace the key part. I've done the math. Correcting for these flaws across the three Jaegers we have left will save the cost of reconstruction within six months."

Clay checked her notes. "I'll want to check these."

Mako nodded, and silently declared victory.

* * *

The alarm hadn't gone off for over three weeks, and it was the first time there had been a three week break in years. Gottlieb had been working up an equation that made all the variances make perfect sense. He was writing the formula up on a chalkboard bigger than Mako's entire room; and every time the alarm went off he wrote another line of numbers.

She'd asked the European Academic about it once. He got quite misty whenever he talked about mathematics. Gottlieb considered it prophecy, written by Creation itself. It sounded a little too... devoted for her, but she'd chosen her career based on a semi-telepathic conversation with a broken machine; so someone finding messages from God in the order of the universe seemed less like craziness and more like... karma.

But in the meantime, the Dome was putting it's nervous anticipation into activity. The longer they went between Breaches, the more time they had to prepare for the next one.

Mako's tablet chimed while she was reading files on some new alloys being tested for construction. It was a message from the Marshal.  **Look at this, please. Then come and see me - Pentecost.**

He had sent her a link to a news story out of Tokyo. She read it and the first thing she saw was a Kaiju corpse... and a few faces she recognized. One of them was Hannibal Chau's right hand man. The other was the Cultist that had tried to snatch her in California.

Mako scanned the story quickly. Neither man in the picture was named, but the story was that both of them had friends, and that both groups were fighting over the defeated Kaiju.

She was already moving, still reading the story while she walked.

* * *

Mako only looked up from her screen when someone got in her way. She looked up and noticed Amy West. Amy was a Cadet that had been from the Academy disqualified due to color blindness and deficient night vision. But she was smart and precise and the Marshal had made her his personal assistant when Mako left for Boot Camp. The distance between father and daughter meant that Mako had avoided West for much of the past few years. "Miss West."

"Miss Mori."

"I need to see him."

"I'm afraid the Marshal is very busy." Amy said reflexively, not moving from her position between her and the Marshal's office door.

"I was summoned." Mako promised her.

Amy checked quickly, and waved Mako in.

The Sensei's office was more Spartan than she remembered it. He had few personal effects to begin with, had gotten rid of many of them after Tasmin died, and apparently gotten rid of a lot more once she had left the Dome. But the desk was as she remembered it. "You got the link." He said without looking up. "You recognized them?"

"I did." Mako nodded. "I thought he was in jail, what's he doing in Japan?"

"I don't know."

"While we're at it, why's he hanging around with Hannibal Chau? Your deal with Chau was agreed to years ago. I assume you never spoke again?"

"Not in person, though we... adjusted the deal once or twice."

"Everyone depends on the Black Market. In Japan, even more so." Mako reminded him, as though he wasn't thinking the exact same thing. "But if the Cultists decide to make trouble..."

"Chau will tell his men to start shooting again, and then all bets are off." Stacker agreed.

"Or worse. He may decide to call off the deal... but what if he mentions you at the same time?" Mako said in a small voice. "If he outs the fact that the two of you made a deal at all, it'll cost you your career."

"For however long it lasts." He commented under his breath.

Mako didn't comment, but inwardly reviewed the math. The doctors had given him another six years or so... "What does that mean?"

"It means... that we may not have to worry about our professional standings as long as you think." Stacker told her quietly. "But in the meantime, we do have to make sure neither the Cultists, or the Black Market feel obliged to start killing each other, or anyone else." He gave her a swift nod. "Get on the line to Commander Clay. Tell him to contact me regarding your assignment for the next few days. We're going back to Japan."

* * *

Mako wasn't sure why he wanted her along, or what she was meant to do for him that his own staff couldn't do. But she hadn't seen Tokyo in years, and she was more than a little pleased to be going home at last.

The last time she had left the Dome for a Homecoming, it had been with Jess...

Mako shook that thought off, not for the first time. As the plane came in to land, she could see the Onibaba skeleton, now picked clean completely, and the Boneslum was far more advanced.

"Tokyo's looking well." Stacker offered in Japanese.

Mako nodded. "I'm surprised Chau is still based here. The Tokyo Dome managed to hold the Mile. I can't believe the Black Market has deep sea diving equipment."

"They have more than you think." Stacker told her. "Domes are being scaled back all over the place. We're a very specific organization. It's not like we can ask anyone else to salvage Jaegers off the bottom of the ocean. They decide they have to sell some equipment..."

Mako swore in Japanese. "So we're equipping them too." She sighed as the signal came to put on their seatbelts. "Are we driving or taking a helicopter to the Dome?"

"We're not going to the Dome." Stacker told her quietly.

Mako sighed. "Are you going to tell me what's going on, now?"

Pentecost scanned around. "I placed a call to Hannibal Chau." He explained. "He agreed to take a meeting... But only if you came along." He held up his phone. "When we took off, I received a shot of us both getting on the plane, taken from a distance, along with an address. He knows we're coming."

Mako shivered. "What will he want to keep the deal going?"

"I don't know, but the old deal won't cut it any more. We can't afford it."

* * *

Mako hadn't worn civilian clothes since Jess died. It was strange, the way she divided her life in her head. Everything that happened before Onibaba was a dream, everything that happened before the Academy was prologue, everything that happened since Jess died was purgatory.

She and Stacker dressed to be invisible and made their way through the Boneslum. The buildings had changed, though the layout was the same. The walls were now clapped together with prefab materials, debris from further attacks, even a few Jaeger Alloys in the more permanent places. Mako was reminded of the square holes carved out of her Gipsy Danger, and shivered, knowing where some of them had gone.

Stacker was reading his phone. Mako wasn't sure what directions he was following, but had a real bad feeling. The number of times her father was not in control of a situation could be counted on one hand.

He led them down an alleyway between two of Onibaba's toes, where the skeleton walls rose dramatically around them, the space growing narrower.

And at the narrowest point, there was a wall of pure calcium white. And written on the wall in brilliant, almost fluorescent blue was a single design. It was a simple, almost tribal sketch of Trespasser, surrounded by tiny human stick figures; all of them around the Kaiju in a circle, holding hands.

Mako had made a study of the subject since Bakersfield. "Kaiju Cult marks." She said quietly, scanning around.

"Drawn in Kaiju blood." Stacker agreed grimly.

"Sensei, what are we doing here?"

"Meeting someone." Stacker said grimly, and pulled out his blacklight, playing it over the narrow passage. He found the hidden circle, and knew where to push. There was the sound of a latch clicking open, and the hidden door let them in.

Stacker drew his sidearm and led the way in. It faintly screamed of evil in this place.

Mako's nose twitched. She smelled death in the room. It was dark, and open.

The lights came on suddenly, and both of them jumped, looking to see who switched them on. What they saw shocked them.

The room was full of dead bodies. Old enough that they were bones and rot. The room was circular. Enough space for maybe twenty or thirty people to meet, and opposite the door was an altar, carved from Kaiju bones, and dark with dried blood.

Mako shivered. She knew the Cult of Kaiju had taken part in human sacrifice, but she'd never seen it before.

Stacker was looking at the bodies. "These aren't the victims. These bodies are all Cult Members."

"Mass suicide?" Mako asked, her voice oddly thin.

"Have you come to repent, Marshal?" A voice intoned from the dark, and Stacker spun smoothly, gun aimed instantly. An instant later, Stacker felt the business end of a rifle poking the base of his neck. Mako spun into a combat crouch, but too late; finding herself surrounded by five more men.

Mako was stunned. It was very hard to sneak up on her. It was frankly impossible to sneak up on Stacker Pentecost. And yet these men had done it.

But even as they took his weapon away, Stacker never took his eyes off Hannibal Chau. He gestured to the bodies. "Your work?"

Chau stepped down from the Bone Altar and came over to them, arms wide, as though embracing the whole room. "Even the Kaiju aren't big enough to be shared, it seems. There was a time you were my silent partner, Marshal. But then the Cult became more powerful. I'm not sure if they're all insane, or just wired up to believe hard in anything that comes along, but every time another Kaiju comes through the Breach, it's a recruiting drive."

Stacker nodded. "I know. It's a fast growing problem. I'm getting reports of sabotage all over the Pacific Rim. I'm on top of it for now, but-"

"But the more your people and your budget get sliced, the more holes there are in your defenses. The metaphor alone is perfect." Chau went past Stacker like he suddenly wasn't there, and came over to Mako. "Tokyo Girl." He breathed, delighted. "My, you've grown into quite a beautiful one, haven't you?" He took her hand without her offering it, and brushed his lips lightly over her knuckles. "My overpaid sources tell me that your career has hit something of a snag." He smiled at her in a manner he probably believed was warm, but it made Mako think of a crocodile. "You could always stop following this poor man around. The real future's in private enterprise."

Mako picker her hand free of him carefully and counted her fingers. "Thank you, but I don't like your retirement plan." She returned, gesturing at the bodies.

"Well... in time, you'll change your mind." He said with absolute certainty. And then he spun away from her, getting right back in Stacker's face. "These men? They came after my guys. At the site, at the Marketplaces, everywhere. It's not a duel over who gets to the Kaiju first, it's a crusade."

"A what?" Stacker growled.

"The Cult worship Kaiju." Chau explained. "What would you do if someone hacked up your saints and prophets and sold bits of their bodies off rickshaws?"

Stacker sighed. "True. Hannibal, this deal of ours only works as long as you stay under the radar."

Chau's smile turned to steel. "Pentecost, let me be as clear as I can. The deal is dead. My people are being hunted by freaks and looney tunes. I've got a solution." He waved around the room. "You're looking at it."

"You know I can't allow that." Pentecost said seriously.

"And I can't let my guys get shot." Chau told him, just as serious. "You think the PPDC is a cutthroat business? You have no idea. Everyone hungry enough to try Kaiju meat is an enemy to me. Anyone with a plastic baggie and a pair of scissors is a competitor. But here I am, on top of the Food Chain, and nobody will find my name on a warrant, or written in a newspaper. You know the trick to that."

Stacker said nothing, calculating.

Chau turned his eyes back on Mako. "You know, don't you dear? Why am I the one in charge?"

"Same reason Stacker is." Mako said it automatically. "Because you take care of your men. In a world that's flying apart in every direction, you take care of your men, and they know it."

Chau nodded. "The Cult makes a liar out of me, and I take action." Hannibal gave him a fierce look. "Pentecost, if you think you can do it right, then fine. Every time we trade bullets with these freaks I put my men in danger. You want to do it, I got no problem. But every time that Breach opens, we've both got work to do. The Cult makes that harder, I'll take care of business."

Stacker nodded. "One week." He said. "Give me one week."

"Three days." Chau countered.

"Four days, and we take the deal from twenty percent to forty." Pentecost shot back.

"Twenty five."

"Thirty five and you'll  _stay_  off all those warrants." Pentecost fired his final offer. "You're not that good. I've been protecting you."

Chau nodded. "Four days. Thirty five percent of the take. But that only works as long as my guys get first dibs. The Cult shows up at one more of my harvest sites, and all bets are off."

Stacker nodded, and turned to go.

"Would you rather have a week and a full half of my take?" Hannibal called after him.

Stacker froze, mid-step. "And in exchange?"

"I want  _her_."

Mako froze, feeling her mouth go dry. Hannibal Chau was pointing at her.

Stacker grew about four feet taller and a whole lot scarier. "Not on the table."

Chau played it cool as a cucumber, barely looking at Stacker. "I'm not talking to you. This is between me and Tokyo Girl." He smiled broadly. "How about it, Miss Mori? Name your price."

Mako felt her skin crawl. "Not For Sale."

Chau came over and walked around her in a slow circle. "Are you sure about that?" He teased. "There's a lot out there. Things that the military could never offer you." His fingers brushed her two-tone hair. "Never close the door on anything truly... profitable."

Stacker took a step forward, breathing hellfire. "Chau. If you don't want to find out what  _being_  a human sacrifice feels like..."

Chau's men cocked their weapons, making the odds all too clear.

But Chau barely smiled. "Once again, Marshal: Not talking to you. Miss Mori is of age, she's of sound mind, and perfectly capable of deciding her future... now that you've neatly crushed her dreams of ever becoming a Jaeger pilot."

Both soldiers hesitated, trading a look.  _Who the hell is telling him all this?_

"I could give you a Jaeger."

Mako froze.

"I know, kind of a big offer to make." Chau said with a satanic grin. "As lucrative as my business is, I can't afford a shiny new machine. But a word or two in the right ear, a deal made with one politician or another... A handshake with me can supply Kaiju Remedies to Refugee Centers. A handshake with me can supply enough phosphorus to fertilize every inch of agricultural land left standing. As the powers of the world starve and go broke, there are plenty of people looking for a feed. I have more IOUs than your father ever could. I could get them to approve reconstruction of a Jaeger. I could get Gipsy Danger taken away from the PPDC and put in a private hangar for you to play with. Hell, once you're done rebuilding it, you could fly it if you wanted."

Mako felt her mouth start to water.

"What I can do for you, is more than anyone on god's forsaken little earth can do." Chau tempted.

Mako hesitated, and looked at Stacker. The Sensei was glaring daggers at the Kingpin.

"Tell you what?" Chau said, smiling broadly. "Why don't you think it over? I'll text you later on. Take a few days to think about it." He grinned like a shark. "A lot of things can happen to change a girl's mind in a few days."

* * *

"Who was giving him all that information?" Mako demanded.

"I don't know, but I have a few suspects." Pentecost said, mask back on. "But right now I have another question."

Mako rolled her eyes. "I never would have said yes."

"I know."

"I mean, for one thing, he's older than you."

"Really? That old?" Stacker snorted, and Mako flushed.

"I didn't mean it like that." She backpedaled. "It's just... He's the sort of guy that can buy and sell a hundred women. I find it hard to believe he was laying it on that thick with me because he wanted a date."

"A place in his organization?" Stacker murmured. "Maybe. But the whole point of this meeting was for him to see you. That deal we worked out could have been done over the phone. He said he wanted to meet face to face, and he refused to do it unless you were present. That whole meeting was so that he could make you the offer. What job would he have open to you specifically?"

"A Marshal's daughter? Probably something that would come into conflict with you." Mako reasoned. "And that alone is enough to say 'never' in my book."

"Well." Stacker let it go and returned to the point. "We've got four days to shut down the Cult of the Kaiju, or we'll have to do without a big slice of funding, and without any help going to the civilians free."

Mako shivered. "What did you mean before? When you said 'for as long as it lasts'. Because Chau was acting the same way."

Stacker waved that off too. "Later. Right now, we've got to get back to Base. Seconds are starting to count." He pulled out his phone. "Miss West, we need as many files as you can pull about arrested Kaiju Cult members. Start with violent offenders and work back."

* * *

By the time they made it back to the Dome, Amy West had already made her search, and come back with nothing. After chasing the more official investigations for a while, Stacker contacted the UN directly, and was put in touch with Captain Gill, a liaison between the military, civilian police, and the State Department.

Captain Gill was not at all impressed by Marshal Pentecost. "Well, I'm glad to see that the PPDC has discovered there's a problem."

Mako wasn't sure she liked the tone, but Stacker took it in stride. "We were hoping to get a briefing on how things stand."

"Simple. The Kaiju Cult is causing massive Food Shortages across half the Western Seaboard." Gill told them.

The statement caught both Stacker and Mako off guard.

"We have heard about the shortages, of course; but I was under the impression that they were caused by limited supplies." Stacker said carefully.

"I'm sure." Gill said. "The food drops are being wasted at the distribution centers. Counterfeit ration cards are flooding every market, so that it's first come first serve, but because the ration cards are faked, they run out by ten am, and about 80% of customers have to go hungry."

"And you believe the Cult is connected to the counterfeiting ring?"

"Connected? They  _are_  the counterfeiting ring." Gill snorted. "Ration books get printed under computer direction. Someone adds a few extra zeroes to the printing quota. It's a three digit change to a single requisition. But there's no profit. When black market or organized crime rips off a food drop, they resell the rations at an outrageous markup. When the Cult rips off a food drop, they burn it."

Mako felt her jaw drop. "They  _burn_  it?"

"Why haven't we heard about this?" Stacker demanded.

"We don't dare tell people that the ration books are worthless, or it'll be open anarchy." Gill explained. "People who can't get a meal from us turn to each other or the Black Market. We figure a little over two thirds of the population on the Western Seaboard are living completely apart from the national economy. We don't enforce squatting laws any more, because... well, we got more refugees than we can house. None of them have an official address, so none of them can be taxed, or receive Ration books. We can't tell the difference between who's a Cultist, and who's hungry."

"So they show up at a Depot, they can't get a meal... and they do what?"

"Move into a Boneslum, go black market, steal something or starve. Those are the only options for about twenty million people."

Mako looked bleakly at Stacker. "And now they're attacking the Black Market."

"Where the hell have you guys been all this time? The Black market? To say nothing of the Refugee Centres, Civil Defense workers..." Gill nodded. "Anyone who might stand between human and Kaiju."

Stacker nodded in return. "All right. We need to fix this. Captain, I'll need a list of all your suspects, and I'll provide you with military protection for your printers and delivery routes, see if we can curtail the counterfeiting."

"Look, Marshal... I don't know why you're just getting into this now, but we've already done that. Our routes are protected, our printers are protected, our offices are protected. But there's a leak in the department, and some of our people end up dead, and the rest don't give a damn."

"Why not?"

"Because government employees need to eat too." Gill told him. "And the rest of us don't get fresh fruit and veg brought in by helicopter every day."

It was a blatant dig, and Mako's eyes flicked to Stacker, expecting him to put the Captain in his place. Pentecost had already turned to Amy. "Miss West, co-ordinate with the Treasury Department, liason with Captain West's people. Call The President if you have to, but smash the counterfeiting ring."

Amy started tapping on her PDA immediately. "Yessir."

"Captain, if you could provide me with a list of your suspects-"

"If you're looking for Cult Members, I can save you some time. They're ghosts. We don't know where they've been until after they leave. The suspects we have been able to confirm? They have a way of... killing themselves before we can question them."

"Well, if they take part in rituals, they have to meet at some point." Stacker reasoned. "They have to let each other know when and where these things take place. How do they talk to each other?"

"We don't know." The Captain said simply.

"There's got to be a way." Mako said under her breath.

* * *

But in four days, they hadn't been able to capture more than a few suspects. The Cult was laid out like a cell network. Even if they found a meeting place, or caught a cell leader, the rest would go on.

Mako, however, found she had a much more personal problem to deal with.

At the morning Staff Briefing, with all the Recovery Team waiting for their duty shifts, Commander Clay was all smiles for Mako Mori. "Miss Mori." He greeted her. "I looked over your numbers while you were away, and I find I agree. Having a Jaeger on hand as a baseline would save us a lot of time and effort in active development."

Mako smiled, hiding her relief. The moment was short lived, when she realized her commander wasn't finished yet.

"But I've gone over all the details again, and frankly, having the machine fully restored isn't necessary. We can repair the individual components and still have the same real-world baseline to compare to when we add newer components."

"H-How?" Mako stammered.

"Well, a new type of Plasma-Cannon? We test it on Gipsy's Arm, but we'd only be testing it in-house anyway. A new Turbine? We'd mount it on Gipsy's chassis, but we don't need a fully constructed Jaeger for that. In fact, it's easier keeping the limbs all separate. That way we have a lot more flexibility in the testing phases."

His logic was flawless, and he was giving her the credit. Mako felt her universe come crashing down again.

Mako struggled to come up with something, anything that would keep Gipsy together, keep Clay thinking about it, keep him in the conversation long enough for her to at least make a brilliant breakthrough that she would use to keep her Jaeger alive...

But Clay was already handing out assignments. "Russell. We need you on Munitions detail. You know what to do; triage the leftover ammo. What gets salvaged, what gets melted." He never looked up from his clipboard; all of this was routine. "Corporal Gulliver, we need someone who can explain the difference between AC and DC to local law enforcement. Residual charge has been putting some police in hospital when they get too close." He checked. "Mako-"

The Alarms went off, ringing through the Base.

"BREACH!" A dozen people shouted, and the entire Hangar exploded into action. The Recovery/Reconstruction Teams were on call. The second the fighting was over, their job was to be on the first convoy to the warzone. Before scavengers got to the metal; or worse the munitions... or worse still, the pilots, if any of them were left to be found.

Mako's duty station was to have the Hangar ready for incoming. It was the most tedious part of the job. Mako was part of the recovery/reconstruction team, but in terms of seniority, one of it's most junior members, and so had the unpleasant honor of doing the grunt work... and no power to overrule the boss. The consensus was to use Gipsy Danger for parts, and Mako was just barely a graduate. She had no power to save what was left of the Steel Samurai.

* * *

There was no viewscreen in the Hangar. The war was being fought, and in the Hangar they had no idea who was winning. Procedure stopped them from piping the Command Frequencies over the PA. Everyone had work to do, so nobody was watching the news feed live on their PDA. They would know it was over when the doors opened and the trucks and helicopters started rolling.

Mako, for the first time in her life, couldn't care less. She slipped over to her C.O. "Sir, I just... I think you're wrong about dividing up Gipsy Danger. We both know that-"

"That the readings and feedback change when all the parts are assembled." Clay nodded, his attention elsewhere. "Ordinarily, I'd agree. But Gipsy Danger is more than five years old. There aren't any surprises lurking. We know what 'normal' is for this thing under every circumstance."

"'Thing'?" Mako repeated the keyword. "It... you..." She stammered a moment and squeezed her eyes shut a moment.  _Please, Jess. Tasmin. Anyone who's listening, give me something I can tell him. Something that will keep us together another day._

Distantly, she wondered when she and Gipsy Danger had become 'us', but she listened for an answer. She hadn't heard Jess' voice in almost a year, but maybe if the need was great, and the cause was just...

But no answer came, and she opened her eyes to see Commander Clay looking at her expectantly. "Please don't take her apart." Mako said finally, reduced to begging. "She's... she's not finished yet, and there's still so much more for her to do."

Clay stared at her. "Mako... We both know our job isn't to rehabilitate machines, it's to keep the Machines we've got combat ready."

"I know that." Mako almost whispered. "But Gipsy Danger belongs here, and..."

The immense sound of gears working interrupted them sharply and they both looked up. The Hangar Doors were opening, which meant the fight was over, and they had work to do.

Clay returned his gaze to Mako. "We'll talk about it when I get back." He said finally.

Mako nodded, unable to meet his gaze. There had been a time, not that long ago, when she would have met him with fury, with fire... But now that was gone. There was a time when she would have fought tooth and nail. But so much of her wrath had been taken from her, poured into Jess and destroyed with her.

Now she was practically sleepwalking, nearly on the edge of tears.

* * *

It took less than an hour to prepare for incoming debris. Moving a Jaeger was a long process, and there was little for her to do until it arrived. Mako would normally spend this time studying footage of the fight.

But this time she didn't. She had failed Gipsy Danger. The last oath she had ever sworn was that she would fix Gipsy, and put her back where she belonged. And now she had failed that oath too.

Mako most of her spent her nights in the Machine. This was the Jaeger that walked with half of its soul gone. She could almost hear the Beckett brothers. She could feel their fingerprints on the walls.

When Jess had died, Mako still felt more aware of her than of anyone. When that feeling had faded, Mako felt hollow. Yet somehow, Gipsy Danger felt welcoming. It was the most at home she'd felt in a long time. She didn't know where the feeling came from, but her father, her real father, would have said that the spirit of the Machine had deemed her worthy and welcomed her inside.

And that was where the Sensei found her that night, long after the Day Shift had ended. The battle had gone badly, and they had lost a Jaeger. Clay and most of the salvage Crew was out collecting the debris and dismembered parts of the Jaegers that had fought... and the one that had fallen.

"Mako." Pentecost broke the silence, tightly controlled. "I'm afraid I have some bad news. There's been an accident." He said, leaning in closer to talk to her face to face. "The Jaeger recovery team has been killed."

Mako felt her stomach drop again. "What happened?"

"We killed the Cat-3. But the damn thing must have had a second heart system. Striker Eureka and Diamond Hope tore its heart out, and when the recovery teams came to collect the damaged Jaeger parts, it suddenly got back up again. Just for a second."

Mako squeezed her eyes shut. "God."

Pentecost's face didn't shift, but his eyes showed the tiniest hint of something that could be considered sympathy. "There was nothing you could have done, had you been there."

"I know." Mako said tightly.  _Humans are nothing to Kaiju. Without a Jaeger, we're just snack food. And I'll never get a Jaeger, and it's your-_  She stopped herself just short of thinking it.

"However, with so many of the Prime Team killed, we have to promote quickly. The decision has been made to promote from within." Mako looked up sharply. Pentecost let her have it gently. "This is how it is in every war. Battlefield promotions are a fact of life in the Dome. Look me in the eye and tell me that you aren't the most qualified one here."

Mako shook her head. "I can't. I'm still eleven spaces below Clay."

"Those ten spaces above you? Nine of them are dead."

Mako squeezed her eyes shut a moment. It was all the funeral she gave them. "Fine." She said tightly. "But only until you get replacements."

Pentecost glanced over his shoulder. "Mako..." She said softly. "Meet me tonight after evening chow."

The sudden change in tone took her by surprise.

* * *

"There are no replacements coming." He said simply that night. "You're it."

Mako blinked. "There's Commander Tenzin, there's Lieutenant Ripler, there's-"

"They're all in other Domes." Stacker cut her off. "We won't be getting any transfers from other Domes."

Mako blinked. "Why?"

"You've noticed Marshal Hansen arrived this morning?" Pentecost said, and Mako nodded. "We've been... informed of a growing situation. The UN is going to pull the plug."

Mako didn't say anything for a long time. What he had said made no sense whatever. "What? Wait, what plug?"

"On us. They're shutting down the PPDC."

Mako kept staring. She heard all the words, and understood each of them, but put together in that sentence, they suddenly seemed like gibberish. "I don't... I don't know what you're saying."

Pentecost sighed and tossed his tablet across his desk, and she caught it on reflex. The UN had made it official. Their funding was being rescinded completely. At the end of the year, they were all unemployed, and the Domes were to be shut down.

"But... What, um, what do they plan to do?" Mako stammered out. It wasn't the most intelligent question she could ask, but it was at least coherent.

"They plan to put the funding into The Wall." Stacker said, with barely restrained disgust.

"Because if they put everything into building the Wall, they only have to hand out food." Mako thought aloud.

Stacker nodded. "Don't judge them too harshly, Mako. The economy is coming apart, and they've decided to spend the last of it on the Wall."

"Do they think that if people vote for them the Breach will close?" Mako demanded, not comprehending.

Stacker gave the mirthless chuckle of the damned. "There are a few that are probably crazy enough to think so."

"I mean... are they actually dumber than rocks, or is there some brilliant plan that I'm missing?" Mako demanded. "Something I'm not cleared to know? Because we both know the Wall won't do a damn thing."

"I've been singing that song for the last three weeks." Stacker sighed.

Mako felt her legs go out from under her, very suddenly falling flat on her rear. "We've lost, haven't we?"

"Over my dead body." Stacker said with fire.

Mako shivered. Stacker only got angry when he didn't have anything else. Earth shaking troubles only made him calm. When he let his temper show, it was because the frustration was enough to break even his endless patience. He was out of ideas. "We are lost." She said simply.

Stacker glanced at the door, making sure it was closed. "Look, there is... a possibility."

Mako nodded. "Whatever it is, I love it."

Stacker snorted. "Top Secret?"

Mako mimed zipping her mouth shut, as she did when she was a little girl. But privately, she was thrilled. He was confiding in her again. She hadn't been his go-to girl since she'd gone to Boot Camp.

"The Brains Trust downstairs are working on a plan to seal the Breach." Stacker told her. "But at best, it's going to take a year to work it out."

Mako was ashamed to admit that her first reaction was panic. "Seal the Breach." She said slowly. Another set of words she couldn't comprehend. The Breach had always been there. Not once in her lifetime did she have a world without The Breach.

She honestly thought she was broken of her desire to fight in this war, but the thought of it being over... without her getting her chance to fight, or worse: without Gipsy Danger going back out... It terrified her.

"A year." Stacker told her. "So, that's where we are now."

"A year." Mako said, more to wrap her head around it than anything else.

"So, we've got a new battleplan to work out." Stacker said, already back at work.

"How..." Mako cleared her throat, trying to find her footing. "How do we keep a Dome funded for a full year?"

"That's why I wanted to talk to you. With the rest of your team KIA, the timing sucks, but right now; the Recovery Project is our best bet. We need a project leader."

"Gipsy Danger?" Mako asked before she could stop herself.

Stacker gave her a look that suggest she was saying exactly what he expected her to. "Yeah, Gipsy Danger too. Keep this to yourself, because the UN wants to announce it themselves, and until January, they're still in charge around here. But every Jaeger that can so much as crawl has just been reactivated." He gave her a look. "They'll need to be made ready."

Mako was practically at attention. Then she froze. "Oh. Wait. January."

Stacker nodded. "Good. A year ago you wouldn't have thought that far ahead."

"How am I supposed to get Gipsy Danger ready for war with all our funding cut off?"

"Actually, there are two more on the way. A Class One and a Class Two. Gipsy may be your favorite, but I need all of them locked and loaded."

"Can't do it before January." Mako shook her head.. "Can't be done."

"I agree." Stacker nodded. "So. Where do we get the money?"

Long silence. Mako bit her lip.

Stacker grew two feet taller and a whole lot scarier again. "No." He told her in a voice that would freeze lava. "I can see you thinking it. Do not do it."

"I won't." Mako promised. "But since I now have a department to run..." Stacker held out the file before she could finish her sentence. Mako took it and stood up. "I better see how much material and equipment I can requisition before January."

"It won't be much." He warned her.

* * *

Mako was staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Gipsy Danger was going back to the war. But she couldn't...

The sad truth that haunted her was that the other two Jaegers would be combat ready first. If she didn't spend the money and put the crews on Gipsy Danger, she'd have two Jaegers on the battlefield instead of one. Instead of Gipsy Danger.

"You're a department head now." She told herself. "Be smart. Be fair. Do the right thing."

She wasn't ever going to sleep tonight. She got up and went to the Hangar.

* * *

Gipsy Danger met her gaze, yet again. She could feel it every time she stepped into the Hangar.

Gipsy stared down at her, and she couldn't meet its gaze. "I have to." She said softly. "I have to be the smart one here."

But Gipsy wasn't mad at her. It forgave instantly.

_This is insane_. Mako told herself.  _I'm having a telepathic conversation with a hunk of metal._

Mako looked around subtly. No sign of anyone. The recovery team would never be back. Hidden in the Conn-Pod was a rolled up sleeping bag. Mako spent more time in the Machine than in her own quarters now.

She tried to sleep, when her phone buzzed. She checked it immediately. She couldn't ignore it any more, because she was a department head now. She was On Call, twenty four hours a day.

The message made her blood run cold.

**I've heard the news. We should meet. Don't tell your Old Man. - Chau.**

Mako sat up slowly.  _He's heard?_  She replayed their last conversation in her head. She would bet that Chau had known about the UN decision before she did.  _Maybe before Stacker did. That's why he was circling me in Tokyo. He was preparing the groundwork. When the UN declares the PPDC shut down, there will be a gold rush. Half the people here passed up more lucrative offers to work toward saving the world. When they're all fired, there will be a quick bidding war over who gets them... And Hannibal Chau wants me._

Mako started to delete the message.

And sent a response instead.  **Okay. When and where?**  She hesitated a moment and sent another message quickly. I  **won't tell Stacker.**

**Anchorage.**  Chau responded.  **The Hilton Dining Room. 0300.**

Mako shivered. He'd picked an upscale place. But the kitchens would have closed by three in the morning. He'd picked the time to show off that he could keep the place open, and to make sure nobody at the Dome noticed her sneaking out.

A moment later a second message came through.  **Wear the blue dress that Jessica bought you.**

_How does he know these things?_

* * *

Mako kept the appointment. She had only worn the dress once, but it still fit, and it was still uncomfortable. More so right now.

The Hilton Dining Room was the most expensive place Mako had ever been. She'd never been in a private dining room, she'd never sat at a round table with tablecloths and candles.

She had been met at the front door by a slender woman with a shaved head and leather vest. The woman had checked Mako for weapons and listening devices, and escorted her right past the front desk, directly to a private table. She scanned the room carefully. There were only a few people in sight. Two at the door, two at the fire exit. They were all sitting at tables also, but none of them had food. Mako understood. Chau went nowhere without his guards.

And soon after, the Man himself showed up, wearing a loud crocodile skin tux, and his ever-present sunglasses. "Miss Mori." He beamed, delighted. "Always a pleasure to see you again."

Mako shivered as he took her hand, squeezed it gently, and sat down across from her. "Part of me expected to be dragged into a van before I reached the front door."

"I'm a crook, but I'm never uncouth. At least not to pretty girls."

Mako would have said something, but the conversation was cut short as a few people came in. They were pushing a restaurant cart with plates of food on it, and they had automatic rifles slung across their shoulders. Hannibal's men were playing waiter for their private meeting.

"Our chef tonight is famous." Chau told her, looking appreciatively at his food. "He was a finalist in the Iron Chef International, owned a five star... Then the Kaiju smeared it. He tied to restart his career in the Boneslums. They don't give five stars to Kaiju meat, no matter how good someone slices it up. But it got him noticed by  _me_. He gets paid more than he did when he owned his own restaurant."

They were served a plate each, a bottle of wine, properly chilled. Mako didn't touch her plate. Chau helped himself.

"So, let's play a game." Chau suggested as he ate. "This game is called 'The Truth'. We play it like this: We speak only the truth to each other until we leave the table."

Mako nodded, still not touching her plate.

"I know that you got bounced from the Pilot Corp." Chau said simply. "I know that they gave you the Reconstruction and Repair Division. I also know that until a week ago, this was little more than a way to cut the price of Jaeger Construction."

Mako nodded. "I know. It was... I think it was Marshal Pentecost's way of keeping me busy and feeling useful."

"That doesn't bother you?"

"It infuriates me, I just don't see any other way of looking at it." Mako said plainly. "There's never been a Jaeger sent back to the front after being rescued from the scrap pile."

Chau nodded. "I also know that the UN is going to announce a full withdrawal of Funding from the PPDC in favor of The Wall."

Mako nodded. "The Wall's cheaper, but it won't work."

"I know that too." Chau nodded with a shark grin. " You know what business I'm in. Believe me, I know that you only get what you pay for." He took a sip of his wine, and gestured for her to do the same. "That vintage is older than you are, Miss Mori. I'm making quite an effort at impressing you here, and you're sucking the fun right out of it."

Mako refused to touch her plate. "What else do you know?"

Chau gave her a long, steady look. "I know that Thresher woke up just long enough to snack on your immediate superior, and most of his team. Which give you a battlefield promotion up several levels." He toasted. "Your Old Man trains his people so well that even a dead Kaiju can get them."

"Could happen to anyone." Mako defended.

"Never happened to any of  _my_  people." Chau taunted. "But I digress, I know that with the funding cut, and Pentecost still dedicated to winning this war, he's only got one option left, and that's the program he just put you in charge of. It sounds like you just got promoted to 'useful' overnight..." He finished his drink, without noticeably pausing. "...And yet you're here."

"Yes, I am." Mako confirmed. "You're right; the Kaiju gave me a chance at relevance with one bite. But..."

"I love it when there's a 'but'. Absolutely love it." Chau grinned.

"Now we get to what I know." Mako nodded. "I know that Stacker Pentecost can't hold out longer than a year. Not without funding."

"Ah. Which brings us back to our previous meeting." Chau nodded. "How goes the hunt for our mutual friends?"

"You tell me, you seem to know everything." Mako shot back. "But I'm not here to talk about that."

"What  _are_  you here to talk about, then?" Chau challenged her.

" _You_ invited  _me_." Mako pointed out. "You have an offer."

"How about money? I know the most expensive thing you've ever bought yourself is a bottle of blue hair dye. How about protection? You have any idea the kind of luxury you can have when you hide from Kaiju?"

Mako actually smirked. "Can I ask you something? What's your long term plan? A man who knows what you know must be aware that within a year it won't matter how much money you have; because there's be nothing to spend it on, and nobody to sell you anything."

"Oh, I've got a retirement plan." He smirked. "I've got my own Island in the Atlantic. The rock is solid, and deep. I've got a bunker there, with enough food and water to handle thirty people for another thirty years. I've been saving up. I know how to conceal a bunker from the Kaiju, it's thousands of miles from anything. When it all goes to hell, I'll move out there with twenty nine of my favorite people, and I'll live in luxury for the rest of my life. The Last King of the human race, however small it gets." He gave her a frankly hungry look. "Most of my people don't know that part. If you only had twenty nine people in your world, who would they be?"

"No." Mako heard her voice say. "I don't buy it."

Chau chuckled. "No, that's not the offer. Well, not yet, anyway. But keep it in mind. You'll live longer there than anywhere else in the world. And a lot more comfortably than you ever have in a Dome." He pushed his empty plate aside. "But let's move on to what I  _do_ want from you."

"Actually, I think I've worked it out." Mako said, perfectly calm. "You don't want me to work for you. I'm not even the bait. I'm the Prize."

Chau froze, just for a second. "The Prize?"

Mako nodded, more certain than ever. "You had a deal with Stacker, but now you know that you'd be the only source of funding that Stacker has left, after the UN pulls the plug. The proper authorities aren't an issue for you any more. But the Cult is getting more... powerful. As Humanity gets beaten down, the Kaiju are in ascendance." Mako licked her lips. "Every time we meet, you call me 'Tokyo Girl'. So you know who I am, and how I'm connected to Stacker. And you told me to wear the dress that Jess got me, so you know about Jess, which means you know about what happened in Bakersfield." She took a deep breath. "I'm the Prize. You're playing the Cult against Stacker. It's a bidding war. Whoever offers you the most money, or the most support... That's the one you'll turn me over to. If Stacker wants his daughter back, he'll have to pay. And if the Cult wants their Tokyo Girl..."

Hannibal grinned like a shark. "Clever girl. Did you figure this out just now?"

Mako shook her head. "I figured it out when you made the offer, back in Tokyo. I didn't understand what you wanted me for until I was halfway home." She smirked. "The photo in the paper had you meeting with a Cultist that's had an interest in me since the Orphanage. If you were enemies, I doubt you would have been talking for long. You were making a deal."

"He gave me a better one than your Old Man." Chau's head tilted. "If you worked it out, then why come to the meeting?"

Mako bared her teeth. "I have my reasons."

Chau glanced around. "Where?" He said softly. "I've got every entrance covered."

"There's no attack coming." Mako promised. "Marshal Pentecost doesn't know I'm here. Besides, we're hoping to renegotiate a deal with you. Sending a tactical team doesn't really help us at all, does it?"

Chau was intrigued now. "Why did you agree to see me?"

Mako met his gaze. "That's between me and the Cult. I'm betting they're close by, getting a good look at the merchandise." She gestured to herself. "You had me dress up for the occasion."

Chau gave a single nod. "They're close enough."

Mako nodded. "Let's make a deal." She offered. "I get handed over to the Cult. I'm agreeing to that, and you don't need to know why. What does Stacker get? And before you answer, just remember that you're selling his only child to people that are known to take part in human sacrifice."

"It's been taken into consideration." Chau said with due gravity. "Now then, with the Cult and the PPDC out of the way, I have pretty much free reign. With the sold off equipment from closed Domes, I can even get the bodies and the wrecks from out beyond the Miracle Mile. With the PPDC shut down, I can even sell in bulk to governments, civilians... If I have your father's permission, I can keep any new competitors down."

"I don't negotiate on behalf of the Marshal, or the PPDC." Mako told him.

Chau glared. "Then why are we talking about this?"

"Because, this doesn't require negotiation." Mako said simply. "You sell Kaiju bits. There are only two things that can bring down a Kaiju. My father is one, a coordinated nuclear strike is the other. You don't want the PPDC shut down. If we were, you'd be ruined, and you know that. You're going to give Pentecost whatever he wants, because we're not just your partners, we're your entire supply line  _and_  profit margin."

Chau said nothing. She had him, and he knew it. She'd quite successfully put her finger on the key point. Hannibal Chau had more to lose than anyone in the PPDC.

"I can take care of the Cult." Mako told him. "You and Stacker can take care of competition. And in return, you and Stacker will shake hands and see to it that there's plenty of dead Kaiju in the future. Something you both want." She gave him a death-glare. "But this is not a negotiation. I'm here because I'm willing to go with the Freak Show. All else is done."

"Well, that works for me." Chau took it in stride. "But... I have to know: Why are you so eager to go with them?"

"That's between me and whoever they've sent." Mako told him. "I'm betting I know who it is."

Chau smirked. "You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Mako said nothing. "Is the wine drugged?" She gestured at the glass, which she still hadn't touched.

Chau shook his head. "No. It was in the food. But you haven't touched that either."

Mako pushed her untouched plate away. "It won't be necessary. Tell him I'm ready."

Chau checked his watch. "Too bad, you know." He said with a smile. "It would have been fun; working for me. I would have made it worth your while."

Mako Mori gave him nothing.

Chau excused himself soon after and Mako waited silently. A moment later, the guards excused themselves and went after him, leaving Mako all alone in the large dining room.

But not for long.

A familiar face sat down across from her. He was dressed neatly, and he had marks that were vaguely tribal, but done in Kaiju colors, and with the intention of... invoking them. Mako could see the Kaiju's shape in his tattoos. It was the same man that had tried to steal her away from the orphanage when she was ten years old, the same man that tried it again when Mako was in California.

"We weren't introduced before." He said brightly. "My name is Harker. And I've been looking forward to this for years."

Mako looked him over. He wasn't armed. He'd slicked his hair back, his shoes were shiny. She realized he was telling the truth. He'd been waiting for this a while and wanted to look good for it. "Last I heard of you, you were in jail."

"I was released. Lack of evidence." Harker waved it off. "Apparently, testimony from the dead is considered inadmisible when it's secondhand."

"And Stacker wasn't informed?"

"We are skilled at going undiscovered." Harker blew past that.

"I want to know why you've put so much effort into trying to get me. Ten years, you didn't give up?"

Harker picked up her wineglass and took a sip. "There was... little option."

Mako leaned forward. "I think I know what that means. I ran a search for others like me. People who had a close encounter. Most of them did not survive."

"And the list is short to begin with." Harker agreed with experience. "We searched for them too. We found only four. They all refused to come with us."

"I won't ask what happened to them." Mako blew past that. "But if you had found four people like me... We wouldn't be here right now."

"Listen, just so you know... Those other four people? They aren't you. And yes, I always believed in you. I knew, the moment I saw you; that you were going to rewrite the book for all humanity. Knew it in my bones. And I knew the PPDC would never make it happen. I knew you'd come around eventually."

Mako blinked. "How?" She asked plaintively. "How did you know I wasn't happy at the PPDC?"

"Just between us, I have it on authority that you'll never become a pilot." He confided. "And we both know you'll never become an ordinary person with an ordinary job. It's your Destiny."

"Yeah, well..." Mako looked down. "You're the only one to say so. The PPDC were not so sure."

Harker toasted. "You want to come with me." He sounded quietly thrilled. "I knew you would. The others said you needed to be drugged, or tied up; but I knew you'd understand."

Mako said nothing.

The light in his eyes was a dangerous, hungry thing. "You see it too, don't you? Your connection to them."

Mako hesitated, and then gave him a nod. "I was a child. A tiny little terrified thing, running down an empty street while something I didn't understand tore up the earth and sky to get to me."

Harker nodded eagerly. "You were chosen."

"I want to know why." Mako told him softly. "I want to know why it chased me down the street. I want to know why it wanted me."

Harker nodded, ever so reasonable. "Of course you do." He said soothingly. "Anyone would. With everyone so scared of things they can't understand, nobody stops to think that maybe they came to us for a reason."

Mako nodded, looking down at the table. "I... For a long time, I thought I was meant to fight back." She said, as if a guilty confession. "I was so... aware of them, every second of every day, I thought of nothing else. I thought I was meant to fight back."

Harker nodded. "It's a natural response when afraid." He consoled her. "Instinct is nothing to be ashamed of." He set the wineglass down. "But what changed your mind?"

Mako sniffed. "I made a friend." She confessed. "Her name was Jess. She was going to fight the Kaiju one day. I taught her everything that growing up in a Dome had given me. I never told her this, but... She was going to be a better fighter than me." Mako shrugged. "When you're known as 'Tokyo Girl' and everyone wonders why a Kaiju wants you... it's hard to make a friend."

"And this girl 'Jess' convinced you?" Harker asked, still being very gentle with her.

Mako nodded. "You know about the Drift."

"We do." Harker nodded. "Your father used his time with The Drift to put me in jail, as I recall."

"Well, Jess offered to Drift with me. It was the only time I had ever done it. But you don't just see the other person. You see yourself. In a lot of ways, it was the only time I've ever seen inside my own Soul."

Harker looked awestruck. "What did you find?"

Mako took a shuddering breath and lifted her gaze to his eyes. "I found Onibaba was still inside me. In fact... it was the only thing I saw."

"Really?" Harker sounded delighted, like he'd found the meaning of life.

Mako nodded. "The Kaiju are inside my soul, and when Jess got too close they reached out of my mind and took her too."

Harker shuddered pleasurably. "Onibaba didn't want Jess. It wanted you."

Mako nodded. "A few days ago... Let us say only that there was something left in the universe that I wanted. One thing only. Money and politics were about to take it away, and I had no choice. Then a Kaiju reached back from the grave and slaughtered everyone who stood between me and getting my way. I was promoted a dozen places because... Because I wanted, and the Kaiju delivered, even after the Jaegers had torn it apart."

To Harker, this was the final proof. "Mako... If there's even a chance that you want any part of what  **we**  want..."

"I fought it for so long, Harker... I have a Destiny with the Kaiju. And it's become clear to me that I will never fight them. I think that I was never meant to. But they are the reason I exist. They are the reason I am... what I am." She reached out and clasped his hand in her own. "Can you tell me?" She begged. "Can you tell me what they want me for?"

Harker had all the calm of a true believer. "Tokyo Girl, I don't speak for the Older Gods, but-"

"Mako." She interrupted. "My name is Mako Mori."

Harker nodded agreeably without hesitation. "Fair enough. As I was saying, I don't speak for them. I leave that to their side. But I give them what they want whenever I can. And we both know they want you."

Mako licked her lips. "Do you think they'd tell me why?"

"I absolutely do."

Mako was silent a moment. "Harker, do you believe there is such a thing as Fate?"

Harker actually smiled. "I didn't used to." He told her. "I was... In another life, I was actually pretty successful. I believed all the hype, you know? Work hard, do your best, live honestly... I held to that. I was an economist. I took other people's money, made a fortune for them, and got a cut. When others at my firm took the opportunity to pad their cut, or bet against their customers, I never did. I honestly believed that if you wanted a good life, you needed to put your all into it."

Mako nodded, to show she was listening.

"Then Trespasser came." Harker said, and his voice took on the note of awe. "I was there when it made landfall. I was in my car on the Golden Gate. When the bridge collapsed... I didn't even run. I was just... staring at it in disbelief. You know that when the first reports made it to Washington, they thought it was a prank?"

Mako nodded. "I heard that. I can't imagine people laughing."

"You can't imagine it now. The Kaiju have been a solid fact of your life, but when I was your age, there was no such things as monsters." Harker told her. "I was just... staring at it in awe, and when it moved out of sight, I climbed the suspension cables to get higher ground. I saw all of it. And when the city was in ruins, they threw the Air Force at it and I saw them come apart like wet paper." He shivered. "It looked at me."

Mako shivered too, familiar with that feeling.

"I chased it, you know." He said with a soft smile. "I went through the ruins and found a working motorbike, and I chased it across half the coast. I was dodging in and out of tanks, and shell fire, and missile batteries." His voice was rising passionately. "And at every battle, I was spared. I saw guys losing their minds all around me, crying out to whatever gods they worshiped. And you know what? They all died. Until finally, they dropped the big one."

"You survived that too?" Mako breathed, despite herself.

He nodded, smiling; his eyes getting full with happy tears. "The blast lit up the night like it was noon. But I was on the other side. They hit Trespasser, right in the face; and I was standing behind it. The Kaiju was so damn mighty that its body shielded me from the blast, from the flash... I should be blind. I should be ashes." He let out a breath, coming down from his fervor. "But I was spared all those things, because I followed behind the Kaiju."

Silence.

"When I got back to the city, my coworkers were all dead, so was my family, so was my job, my bank... I was told that all my savings were worthless because the economy had panicked. Then I met one of those others I told you about. The ones that made themselves rich at my firm by being less than honest. They were broke too. And that when it hit me: All the plans of mankind? All of them came to nothing. All the promises of mankind? They were worthless. Live honestly, live dishonestly; it barely mattered. Work hard, or don't work at all, it made no difference. We were all flat broke in a heartbeat. If you lived on the street or in a mansion, you were still sleeping on identical cots in the refugee centre a day later. Where the Kaiju walked, all the crap got laid out flat and reality was clear to see."

Mako snorted, despite herself.

"So, to answer your question, Miss Mori... Yes, I do believe in Fate. I didn't before, but then I saw the Kaiju, and I realized in a day how ridiculous it was, to think that a human could be in charge of their own life and their own future. All the effort we put into improving our means... and it's all vanity. Destiny isn't up to us. It's up to them."

"And let me guess: That's when you went looking." Mako nodded.

Harker smiled. "It took me less than a day. The Dinosaurs weren't nothing. Cerberus. The Kraken. The Hydra. Gogira? Every culture has the same story. Enormous beasts that rule the next world, that stand as guard to keep humanity in its place. That was when I knew. The Ancient Gods had returned to put the world back in its place again. To sweep it all clean."

"And to find me?" Mako asked, in a very small voice.

Harker nodded. "Don't be scared, beautiful lady." He said gently. "They protected me from armies, from war planes, even from The Big One. They can protect you from anything they want. And I believe they will."

Mako nodded and picked up her glass for the first time, toasting him. He returned it, and they both drank.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

Mako took a long deep breath. "I am."

Harker rose and held out a hand to her. She took it, and they strolled out to the street. His van was parked at the corner.

* * *

"I will have to ask you to put this on." Harker said, one hand on the steering wheel, the other hand holding out a blindfold.

Mako gave him a look.

Harker actually looked embarrassed about it. "I'm afraid I have to insist. I'd be wearing one too, but I'm driving."

Mako snorted and put the blindfold on. They kept driving for several minutes. When the van stopped, Mako heard him get out, and a few moments later her door opened. "Take my hand."

Mako did so, and he put his arm in hers. They walked together. Mako listened. She heard turbine engines, the wind blowing openly, concrete beneath her feet. "An airport?" She guessed. "You're not worried we'll stand out?"

"Don't worry, we're not taking a passenger jet." He promised her.

Mako felt his arm shift upward, and a moment later, she stubbed her toe on a step. She climbed steps for a while, and suddenly realized they were getting onto a plane. "Where are we going?"

"Where it began." He said with a smile in his voice.

* * *

She was guided into a seat and buckled up as the plane started to move. Once they were n the air, she was directed to take her blindfold off. As far as she could tell, she was alone in the cabin.

Harker joined her a few moments later, coming in from the cockpit. "I've contacted the others." He told her. "They'll be meeting us there."

"All of them?" Mako asked in jaded awe. "The entire Cult?"

Harker's lips turned down sharply. "We don't really use that term..."

Mako made an apologetic face. "I've never actually heard your movement called anything else, so I'm sorry if I offended."

He waved it off. "Don't worry about it. But yes, almost all of us."

"Almost?"

"Some of them... have expressed a desire to make sure of you. They recognize that you are something special, but we've survived by being hard to find, so it's not an easy thing to put us all in one place. They'll be there, but..."

"They'll be hiding." Mako said, almost to herself.

"Don't worry. You'll win them over. We've been waiting for this a long time."

"You're betting a lot of your hopes on me." She said softly. "Are you sure I'm worth it?"

"Mako, we have physical proof that you're something they want. Do you have any idea how many people wish they knew what their Gods wanted of them? Let alone where to find it?"

Mako gave him a single nod, conceding the point.

"What about you?" He asked suddenly. "We know they want you, Miss Mori. We don't know why, or what they plan to do when they have you. Are you willing to see this through?"

Mako looked out the window. Ocean was beneath them; she couldn't see land. "Something they tell you at the PPDC, is that even if you make it all the way to the top, there's a mathematical near-certainty that once you get there; you'll die trying. Since I was ten years old, I knew I'd pour my heart and soul into going after Kaiju, and I didn't care if it would kill me, or drive me insane, or bury me under a mile of ocean." She gave him a hard look. "I am not afraid."

Harker smiled, like she'd just proven something he'd long suspected; and he went back to the cockpit.

* * *

"We'll be landing soon." He told her, holding out a gym bag. "Listen, that dress is very... appealing, but I don't think you'd be too comfortable."

"Probably right." Mako agreed, taking the bag.

"I'll stay in the cockpit, give you some privacy while you change." He turned to go, and paused. "Mako, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"I was watching while you negotiated with Hannibal Chau. You were right, we had a deal with him. If he could deliver you, we wouldn't get in his people's way while they harvested. See, we weren't there to harvest Kaiju parts for resale. We were hoping to... well..."

"Find a living Kaiju?" Mako finished. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Some of our members get very passionate about seeing the Masters getting hacked up by criminals." Harker excused. "But I have to ask, if you were coming with us, why did you tell Chau to fund the Shatterdome in return?"

Mako shrugged. "Stacker Pentecost adopted me. I had nowhere to go, and he took me in. Just between us; the PPDC has lost the war already, they just haven't admitted it yet. If I'm leaving him for his enemies, the least I can do is repay him... for so long as he lives... which won't be more than another year. Chau has the same problem. Another year and there won't be any such thing as a defeated Kaiju. Let them squabble over money, for so long as it lasts."

Harker nodded. "That was nice of you."

"Respect, Harker." Mako said softly. "Showing Respect and Giving Dignity are very important in Japan. Especially to the people who have put their faith in you."

Harker agreed, and left her alone. Mako changed out of the party dress, and into the clothes provided for her. It was a pure white dress, with a pure white hood sewn into it. It felt soft and cool on her skin, but the look was ceremonial.

Mako wondered if all human sacrifices were dressed in while silk ceremonial robes.

* * *

She was blindfolded again after they landed. They drove for a while. Harker never let go of her hand the whole way.

The ground was broken under her bare feet. Mako wasn't worried. She trained barefoot in the dojo, her balance was faster than the speed of thought.

"You can take the blindfold off." Mako told him quietly. "I know where we are."

"You do?" Harker seemed pleased.

"We're in San Francisco." Mako nodded. "We flew south, we landed somewhere on concrete, but there are no sounds of... anything. Even out in the country, I'd hear some insects chirping. So, where in America would we find concrete roads, and not a single living thing? Some place that people can get to, and you won't stress about us being seen? An abandoned city. There are plenty of them, but which one has special meaning to Kaiju worshipers? San Francisco."

He laughed. "Clever girl."

But the blindfold stayed on, until the broken ground settled, and the air warmed. There was the sound of something heavy moving, like a door swinging shut. They were inside. Their pace slowed. Mako felt the walls pressing in, though she didn't reach for them.

The blindfold came off. Mako blinked, and registered where she was. It was a church. A big, ornate cathedral. Thick stone walls, stained glass windows... The icons had all been removed; the statues of saints, the cross at the altar, all of it had been removed. There were Kaiju bones strung across the altar, across the front half of the main hall...

The pews had all been removed. There were people, hundreds of them, all clustered around. Each one held a candle. The flames smelled of animal fat, and Mako shivered. They used oil lanterns like that in the Boneslums.

Some of them were looking at her, hopeful fire in their eyes. Harker led her up to the Altar. Mako looked at the crowd again. They had no uniforms, no robes. They wore regular clothes. A few suits, a few uniforms, mostly casual...

"Not what you expected?" Harker guessed as they moved to the front of the room.

"I was expecting... I don't know, a leader, or something. A speaker, or a... I don't know, what's your version of a Clergy?"

Harker chuckled. "In a regular religion, a clergyman is their version of whoever is closer to God than everyone else."

Mako snorted. "And anyone who got closer to a Kaiju than you is dead."

Harker gave her that look again, full of passion and devotion, like he was seeing destiny in Mako's eyes. "Almost anyone. There are exceptions."

Mako froze, almost stumbling. "Me?"

Harker just smiled at her. By this time, they had reached the Altar. It was stained with dried blood. Not Kaiju blood. Mako looked hard at it, then settled her gaze on Harker. "Is that what I'm here for?"

"No." He promised her. The look on his face suggested that he found it distasteful. "As I said, we are not all of the same mind on what to do. Some have gone to... extremes, but not all of us believe that's the way."

Mako looked around awkwardly, wondering what to do. She stood out in the candlelight, the warm glow shining off her radiant white robes.

And then a familiar face slipped out of the crowd, making her way to the Altar, where everyone could see. Mako felt her jaw drop. "West?"

Amy West, still in her PPDC uniform, stepped up. "Hello, Miss Mori." She grinned. "I knew you'd come and join the party eventually."

_The Sensei's personal assistant._  Mako thought to herself.  _The woman that replaced me. Well, now we know where the information leak was coming from._

Amy stepped up to the Altar, and spoke loudly enough that her voice carried to the whole room. "Almost a year now, I've been telling you the truth of things. About the Jaegers, the Kaiju, the war... and where it was leading. It's been an honor, that all of you would listen to me for as long as you have." Amy sent her gaze to Mako. "But it wasn't me that the Kaiju picked. And it wasn't me that brought her here to join us at last." She gestured grandly to Harker.

Harker took a moment to smile at Mako. "Never was a UN vote so united as we are."

Mako was forced to acknowledge that, as her guide into this world took Amy's place, speaking to the crowd.

Amy took the opportunity to slip over next to Mako. "I know you must hate me." She whispered. "Your allegiance to the PPDC vanished as soon as they bounced you, but I know you love The Old Man unconditionally. I promise, nothing I've told them puts him in any danger. I would never do that."

Mako nodded, not trusting herself to say anything.

Harker was making his speech. "We've spoken of her before, we've spoken all about her connection to the Kaiju. There have been some that suggested we couldn't trust her, or that it wasn't safe to bring a member of the PPDC here. But having spoken to her, I can tell you that this was the right thing to do."

Silence. The crowd was looking for something. Reassurance, proof, something that they hadn't gotten yet. Mako knew why. They had survived by hiding themselves, and their beliefs from the authorities. Being asked to come out of hiding was a big risk. To do so on the say-so of one man, and his faith in a soldier from the opposition was worse.

"Everyone here wants nothing more than to get closer to them, to know everything that can be known about them." Harker continued, pointing at Mako. "When this one was a little girl lost, they came for her. For fifteen years she remained in hiding, and when she emerged in California, they came again. She makes no secret of the fact that she would never,  _could_  never fight them... and that the Kaiju are deeply a part of her."

The crowd murmured. They weren't so sure. In fact, the ones that weren't looking hopefully at Mako were looking at her with suspicion.

Some of them were starting to leave.

"Did you tell them about the Drift?" Mako whispered to Amy.

"As much as I could understand." Amy nodded.

Mako took a breath, and quickly stepped up, putting a hand on Harker's shoulder. "Let me." She said to him quietly.

Harker looked surprised at the interruption. "Are you sure?"

"You brought me here, Harker. And I'm grateful." Mako leaned in a put a soft kiss on the corner of his cheek. "It's my time to speak now."

Harker beamed, and stepped aside for her. Mako raised her voice, and despite themselves, everyone was looking at her. For just a few moments, she had the whole Cults attention. "Amy will have told you... She will have told you about The Drift. She will have told you that The Drift merges two minds. What she doesn't know, is that it also gives you a much deeper look inside your own mind. It shows you your soul, as it were." Mako took a deep breath. "I have performed one Drift... and the only thing I saw looking back at me was Onibaba."

The whole room hummed, letting out a positive sound. They agreed with what she was saying, but they weren't sure about her.

Harker stepped forward. "Guys, I know that legitimate concern is hard to overcome. Amy's told us that the PPDC has been shut down by the UN. The announcement will come next week at the latest. And now, at the finish line, here she is, coming to us at last. That has to mean something."

"And what exactly do you think it means?" Someone shouted. "Tokyo was decades ago. California was years ago. Every other point, she's been glued to the PPDC."

Harker spread his hands wide. "Why do you think I brought her here? If the Kaiju are looking for her, then every time they've come through, the Jaegers were waiting." He pointed to Mako. "This is the first real chance they've had to get to her in twenty years."

Dead silence. Everyone was frozen for the tiniest beat.

And then, from the altar, came a sound. A sound that Mako knew instinctively. It rang out from every city in the Pacific Rim, from time to time. No matter how much damage was done, there were always a few sirens left to around the alarm. But San Francisco had been destroyed in the opening salvo, and nobody had ever put a warning system here.

But the Cultists had personal alerts sent to them, always wanting to know the instant the Breach opened.

"BREACH!" Someone shouted.

Amy West had her PDA out instantly. "One moment. The sensors are tracking... tracking..." She looked up, with dark awe on her face. "It's coming here!"

"They're early!" Someone shouted. "You said the Dome had figured out the pattern! It's only been a week since the last Breach!"

Harker was thrilled. "They never go to the same place twice. Not ever. Once they've destroyed a place, they ignore it and move on to the next target!"

"I don't know what else to tell you; it's coming  **here**!" Amy insisted.

And then, every eye turned to Mako, who was still staring up at the bones. "It's  _her_!" Harker exulted. "She called, and they answered!"

And the whole room turned, waiting to see their Tokyo Girl's reaction.

Mako looked at Harker, and her face wore a look of absolute angelic peace. "Harker, it's time. Gather your people. All of them."

Harker stared back at her, and his eyes were fever bright. "Call everyone in. Everyone. The Kaiju is coming for Tokyo Girl, and we get to be here for it."

"Is it wise to bring everyone here at once?"

Harker waved that off. "We get  _one_  chance at this. Can you summon one of the Ancients?" He pointed at Mako. "Because it seems this woman  _can_. You want to waste the chance?"

* * *

Mako said nothing as people came pouring in from various entrances. Didn't even look at them.

Harker was moving through the crowd, from group to group. Some he was calming down, some he was trying to excite. At every step he made it clear that whatever they were waiting for had arrived.

Amy West slipped over to Mako. "Mako, I have to ask: Why did you really come here?"

Mako didn't look at her. She hadn't taken her gaze off the bones. "Ever since I was a little kid, I knew the Kaiju were my destiny." She said, almost to herself. "And this Cult? They're the closest thing to a Kaiju that a human being can become. It's... appropriate. If I die here, I die surrounded by human Kaiju. And I always knew it was going to happen because of them, in some way. And I always knew I'd go down fighting."

Amy heard that and paled. "...how... why..." She shook her head hard for a moment. "We know it's not a trap. There's no way you could have been tracked once you took off from Anchorage. And you aren't carrying a tracker. We got you out of those clothes and into robes we picked."

"I know." Mako said softly. "That's why I swallowed the tracking device earlier tonight, before I met Hannibal Chau."

Amy spun to look at her in shock, and Mako quickly sent a finger thrust at her. Amy dropped instantly, clutching at her throat, unable to summon enough breath to scream. Mako sent a quick glance around. Nobody had noticed the swift strike, all caught up in conversations with each other.

Mako swiftly pushed Amy down. The throat spasms would keep her down for a minute or two, but not in any way that could stop her from warning the others. Mako knelt beside her, from behind it would seem like a friendly arm around her shoulder as they both bowed to the altar. The arm actually reached lower, around her major arteries. Amy wheezed air for another few seconds, unable to break free from the sleeper hold, before passing out.

The Cult didn't notice, focused on each other, as they tracked the contact on their screens, moaning their terrible hallelujahs as the huge shape made landfall.

Mako shifted Amy around until she would hold the pose, and left her there.

Harker noticed Amy was nearly prostrate on the ground and started to move back towards the altar, when the ground started rumbling.

Everything went deathly quiet. A second later, the ground rumbled again. And then again. Footsteps. Heavy ones. Heavy enough to rattle the floor.

And they were getting closer.

Harker spun in delight, almost running up toward Mako. "It's Coming! It's Coming!"

"Don't go out!" Mako shouted. "Stay together!"

The silence became electric, as everyone looked up at the walls, the ceiling, the floor, waiting for something to invade their sanctuary.

The ground shook harder and faster, as the sound of helicopter blades came into focus, over the earthquake of the plodding footsteps. The footsteps stopped, right outside the church. Spotlights played over the windows as the sound of helicopters grew louder.

Harker ran up to the Altar, and clutched Mako's hand in his own. "This is it!" And then he noticed that Amy West was unconscious on the floor. Mako felt his grip loosen for an instant, before he whirled on her, eyes blazing. "No!"

Mako would have struck first, but at that moment...

On both sides of the hall, the walls caved in, about ten feet up. But what ripped into the building wasn't Kaiju claws. They were huge steel fingers.

For a split second, the walls groaned...

And then the world erupted into an explosion of noise and movement. The cultists all dropped to the floor, some of them falling back in panic, some of them bowing to their expected objects of devotion...

But in the light of the helicopter spotlights, they all looked up and saw that the church had been ripped clean out of the ground, not by a Kaiju, but instead...

...by Striker Eureka.

The huge machine hoisted the entire church up, holding it balanced like a football with one hand. A squadron of helicopters were circling the suddenly exposed main hall.

Striker Eureka's loudspeakers roared, loud enough to make the puny mortal humans feel it in their bones. "Everyone get down on the ground, right now. This is your only warning. The use of force is authorized!"

Mako turned toward Harker. "It's over." She told him.

Harker's face was vicious, and his eyes were fierce. "Not yet."

And then, from further away, from the dark and torn skyline, someone started fighting back. Mako couldn't hear the sound of the RPG firing over the helicopters, but she could see the flash of ignition. The shot whistled through the night sky and hammered one of the helicopters from behind, bringing it down in a burst of flame and debris.

Everything exploded into movement. The cultists started pulling open hidden compartments in the floors, revealing hidden tunnels, and concealed weapons.

Harker took advantage of the diversion and released Mako, diving for cover. Mako dove in the opposite direction as the blast from above sent debris her way.

From the southwest, much bigger helicopters landed, deploying ground tropps to the area. They charged in, and found that not all their targets were trying to escape.

The sound of gunfire rang out as battle was joined. More rocket fire came from the distance, aiming for Striker Eureka. They were pinpricks against the giant, but it did serve to keep them distracted.

Mako rolled back to her feet, her thin white robe whipping around her in the wind. She scanned around and snatched up a tall candelabra. She put it against the ground and snapped the ornate end off, before flipping it over and repeating the gesture with the equally ornate base.

Suddenly armed with a four foot staff, Mako went after Harker.

* * *

Striker Eureka shifted on its feet and started shouting instructions. "Chopper One, you have bogeys in your three o'clock. Ground Team Charlie, you're being flanked in your eight o'clock. There are enemy positions in the skyline; standby." The Jaeger fired a quartet of missiles toward the skyline, knocking down one of the dark buildings without hesitation. "Problem solved."

The Cultists were getting organized, using what was left of the church as cover, fighting outwards in all directions. Still others dove into their hidden tunnels, having prepared for this sort of attack.

It was a brief, savage little war, as trained soldiers and desperate amateurs went after each other. It should have been over a lot sooner, but the soldiers had orders to take prisoners. The Cultists fought without mercy.

* * *

Harker hadn't gone for the tunnels. The streets were torn up enough that he could hide as the spotlights played overhead. The only one of the group that wasn't under spotlights, and wasn't firing back, he almost went unnoticed.

Almost.

Mako came from nowhere and tackled him against the concrete. But to her surprise, Harker rolled with it, and came up on his feet. His posture was flawless. He'd been trained.

Their eyes met electrically. Harker cast aside his jacket and in each hand he held a collapsible baton. He extended both of them, and settled into a combat crouch.

Mako spun her staff into a defensive pose. The broken ground dug into her bare feet painfully, but she ignored the pain, totally focused.

Harker struck first. His batons were thin and strong, flexible with weights on the end. Getting hit wouldn't kill her right away, but it would break bones and slice her open at once. The slash came from her side, and she blocked it with one end of her staff, bringing the other end up to return the attack.

Harker twisted with a madman's speed and turned it into another charge.

Mako recognized his style. He was ferocious. He wasn't saving anything for round two. He wasn't saving anything for an escape attempt. He was pouring it all into the fight.

Mako fought the same way.

There was fury exchanged between them. Mako had never fought someone with this kind of weapon, but she knew how to be fast on defense. His attacks demanded all of her speed and accuracy. He was hammering his way in, trying to get under her guard.

Mako snapped her staff up hard, knocking one hand high. His other came in low, trying to strike her, and she moved forward, catching his baton under her arm. Neither of them had any problem getting in close, Mako smashing her fists against his face, and Harker trying to wrestle her down with his elbows.

Mako suddenly realized his strategy and grinned, breaking his hold and leading him away from the fight. He gave chase, both of them leaping over the edge of the Church walls, into the ripped up ground below.

Harker's weakness was suddenly obvious to her: He still wanted to take Mako alive.

* * *

The helicopters came in low, kicking up a near solid wall of wind and dust. The PPDC soldiers came in quickly, ready to catch them while they were down, but the Cultists were still armed, and fired up at the helicopters, driving them back, higher into the sky.

* * *

Striker Eureka could have ended the fight in an instant, but for all the power a Jaeger had, it couldn't take prisoners.

"Striker Eureka, do you have a twenty on Mako?" Stacker demanded over the radio.

"Negative, Control. We still have her tracking signal, five by five." Herc responded. "Any word on these tunnels?"

"Thermal scan says that they reach about thirty meters." Tendo Choi reported. "They're not long range, but they go in every direction."

"More importantly, they're leading to cover." Herc put in, trying to look in every direction. "Our ground teams are being flanked!"

* * *

Striker Eureka lifted a foot and slammed it down hard on the ground. The entrances to the tunnels gave out a sudden gust of cloudy dirt, as the tunnels collapsed under the impact and the weight.

The Cultists were routed, and it became a closer fight, with nowhere to hide as the gunfight intensified.

* * *

Mako and Harker traded blows back and forth with speed and fury.

Mako felt exalted, suddenly in her element. These minions of her true targets would suffice, and for the first time in her life she felt like she was actually taking part in the war.

Harker was the lesser fighter, but fueled with some kind of manic intensity that even Mako's obsession didn't give her. For all the speed he struck with, his expression was almost sad. "Mako, you could have been so much more than this!" He raged, hot tears forming in his eyes.

The next slash would have put her eyes out, and Mako brought up her staff to block it, automatically. Past her opponent, lit up for a moment by the waving spotlights, was Amy West, deathly pale, and limbs shaking, but she was the only other combatant from either side that had spotted her.

"Harker!" Amy shouted, and Mako heard a gunshot ring out, the bullet whistling past her hair, close enough she could feel the breeze of it. She ducked away quickly, before the second shot could aim straight.

Harker broke off the fight instantly and ran to Amy's side.

Amy kept shooting, aiming at Mako as best she could.

Mako danced nimbly out of the way, heading for cover. "Lousy night vision, Amy!" She shouted back. "There's a reason you got kicked out of the Academy!"

Amy let out a screech of rage and kept shooting.

"Nobody kills the Tokyo Girl!" Harker roared, and whipped his baton across her face. Amy dropped with a quick splash of blood, and Harker snatched up the gun. "Nobody!" He aimed the gun down at Amy, and Mako charged, hitting Harker from the side before he could pull the trigger.

The tackle took them both away from the fallen Kaiju Bones, back into what was left of the Church.

* * *

"I have eyes on Mako; she's at the rear of the church." Chuck reported. "Minimal enemy contact in her range."

"Keep her there." Stacker Pentecost said tersely.

"Yessir."

* * *

Mako brought up the end of her staff to keep from falling on her face. Harker was not so lucky, and went sprawling. He heard the whistle of Mako's strike coming at him from above and jerked his head to the left, just in time. Somehow he managed to catch the end of the staff, and the two of them wrestled for it a moment...

...when Striker Eureka slammed a fist the size of a five story building down hard against the ground, fifteen feet to their left. Mako and Harker both went rolling.

The impact was heavy. Mako felt it in her bones. The vibration nearly shook her apart for a moment.

But somehow, though she couldn't tell down from up, she saw what happened next with flawless clarity.

Harker was about ten feet away, with a huge steel fist blocking his escape. He seemed to be shaken apart too, unable to stand, but fighting to get upright...

And then the PPDC teams caught up with them. PPDC worked in teams of two, always. Two teams arrived on the scene. Four guns aiming at Harker; four voices yelling at him to get on the ground.

Harker didn't even look at them. Neither did Mako. For a spellbound moment, the universe ceased to exist around them.

She knew immediately what would happen next. Knew it in her bones, because it was exactly what she would have done in his place.

The attack Harker made was bold and vicious, and used the last of his strength. The bullets ripped into his chest, and he dropped, without ever breaking her gaze.

Mako groaned and rolled to her feet, recovering. The soldiers were quick to help her up. "Miss Mori, your status?"

"I'm fine." She forced out. "Just scrapes. No drugs, no poison. What's the situation?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am; but I have to clear that with the Marshal." The team leader told her. "He's asked to speak with you."

Mako glanced at Harker's body as the sound of gunfire started to ease in the distance. They led her away from the battlefield, and handed her a secure radio. "I'm fine." She promised him before bothering to say hello. "The plan worked just like I said it would."

"Did he so much as look at you wrong?" Stacker growled demoniacally.

"Harker, or Hannibal Chau?" Mako asked with a smirk. "One of them is dead, and the other will be calling you soon with a better offer. This was a victory."

Stacker growled again.

"I'm okay." She promised again. "I'm okay. And you were right. Chau's source was Amy West. But it turns out she wasn't just his man in the PPDC; she was also the Cult's spy in Chau's network too."

"Really? Explains why Chau was so eager to buy them off. With that kind of intel, the Cult could have known  _everything_  that Chau  _and_  the PPDC were doing."

"Tell me about the rest of the Op."

Stacker sighed. "Fourteen killed, thirty three captured. Four of ours injured, two of them seriously. Striker Eureka was able to trace those tunnels. Without that, it could have been a whole lot worse."

Mako nodded. "Harker said he'd called them all in. They're laid out like a cell network. At least one of them will know where to find others, if any."

"I know. You did good, Mako. Now get your ass back here, right now."

Mako smiled. He wouldn't relax until he saw her again with his own eyes. "I'm on my way."

"Bring Miss West with you." Stacker said. His tone was polite and calm, which made Mako shudder.

* * *

The church and surrounding area was pretty well demolished, even before a pitched gunfight had taken place, but Mako was escorted back to where Amy West had been knocked down. She had woken up and tried to escape, but she didn't get far.

Harker's strike with the collapsible baton had sliced her face open from nose to ear, and her eyes were rolling in opposite directions from the concussion.

"Get her to the chopper first." She told the strike teams. "She's the one we need to break, and she was a double agent in The Old Man's office for god knows how long. Keep her alive until The Marshal can get to her."

Amy groaned as the Marshal's Daughter listed the charges. Two men hauled her upright.

"Give her a heavy escort." Mako added. "There are other prisoners being loaded right now, and the Cult has tried suicide and murder to cover up their ranks more than once. Don't give her, or the other prisoners a chance. We need this one alive."

The rest of the Strike team obeyed, flanking Amy as they marched her back to the helicopter.

"You can't stop them, you know."

Mako spun. Harker was still alive, just barely, clinging to the stone altar. "I can try." She told him shortly.

"I know you will." He coughed. "You'll make it, too. If they can't come to you, you'll go to them."

And despite herself, Mako hesitated, coming back to sit with him. Now that she was closer, she could see the vest that had blocked several shots. She could also clearly see that it hadn't saved his life, just made his death slow and painful. She held his hand in hers.

Harker squeezed her hand gently. "I knew you wouldn't leave me." He coughed pathetically. "Respect, Tokyo Girl?"

"Showing respect and giving dignity." Mako nodded, feeling a tear gathering in the corner of her eye.  _Especially to those that have put their faith in you._  She saw some of the soldiers charging back toward them out of the corner of her eye, and waved them off quickly.

He coughed again, weakening. "You'll go all the way to the Breach itself if you have to. I know you will. You'll cross over to the other side, and walk right up to their gates and knock." He was actually smiling. "And they'll let you in. Because they want you. You looked into your soul with the Drift, Mako... and Onibaba was looking back at you."

"You still believe in me, don't you?" She said quietly, somewhere between flattered and horrified.

"I... do." He wheezed. "I wish... I could go... with you..."

"I know." She whispered.

"When you get to The Breach... tell them about me?" Harker coughed.

Mako sniffed, feeling bad for him. "Don't you get it?" She almost cried. "The alarm was a fake. They didn't come when I called, or when I was in danger. Onibaba chased me because I ran. They are predators, Harker. Not gods. Monsters. It wanted to kill me, because everyone else was in the shelters, and I was the only thing left that it could kill. Their purpose is to kill us; that's all. No Destiny. Only destruction."

And as the light went out in his eyes, the mania faded just enough that Harker believed her. "Why?"

Mako had no answer for him. She just held his hand until he died.

* * *

The authorities moved quickly, collecting names from the prisoners and the dead. Tracking their associates was rushed, and netted few people, but once the police identified which of their friends had vanished, the list of confirmed Cult Members was less a list of guesses, and warrants for questioning were issued across most of the western world. A few cell members had contact men in Asian and European Countries, and all along the Pacific Rim, the Cult went into hiding.

"There will always be some remnants of their movement." Stacker summed up for his command team. "Which is fine. I don't care about people who still worshiped Greek or Egyptian Gods; and I don't care about people who worship sea monsters, until they start getting violent. Beyond that, who gives a damn?"

"How exactly did you get them all to go along with Mako?" Herc asked with interest. "I thought the whole point of a cell network was that they'd never be in the same place at the same time."

"Ordinarily, yes. But that was the goal. Mako had to sell them on the idea that they'd never see anything like her again, so they had to be there for it."

"They bought it, because it was what they wanted to believe, more than anything." Mako put in. "The reason the authorities never managed to catch them out, was because they never all met up in the same place. All I did was offer them what they wanted. They wanted a Kaiju to come when they called, and give them everything they asked for. Isn't that what everyone wants from their idols? That offer and a Breach Alarm was enough to sell them on the idea."

Herc snorted. "Speaking of that..."

"I'll take that one." Stacker picked up the narrative. "Our liaison to the civilian authorities, Captain Gill, was kind enough to tell us that we'd been kept fully informed of their investigation. I never got half that information. The number of people that can block an official report from coming across my desk can be counted on one hand."

"Amy West." Chuck nodded. "It makes sense. The cops, the military, and the Black Market have been running around in circles trying to find each other. The only one who knew where they all were was Marshal Pentecost."

"West was able to read everything she put on my desk, knew every phone call I made, set every appointment. It would be easy for her to run logistics for the Cultists. But she pushed her luck too far, and tried to keep me from finding out about the investigations. Without that, I may never had suspected her."

"We sent a fake alert to her phone, and with everything in San Francisco shut down, they took her word for it." Mako finished. "After all, she'd never steered them wrong before."

Herc let out a breath between his teeth. "Marshal, it worked perfectly, but that was one hell of a risk. They could have carved Mako up for dinner."

"As much as I'd like to say I had it all under control, the fact is this was all Mako's plan." Stacker waved it off. "She came up with it all by herself."

Herc glanced at Mako, a gleam of respect in his eye. "Bold move."

"Reckless." Chuck put in from the other side of the room. "A miracle you weren't killed."

"A miracle and a lifetime of martial arts training." Mako demurred. "That, and a Jaeger for backup."

"Something every father would love to have on call." Herc grinned.

* * *

Mako had been checked out by the Med Staff. Aside from a few bruises, and some cuts on her feet, she was fine. Back in uniform, it would have been easy to pretend that none of it ever happened.

Except that Mako couldn't get Harker out of her head.

There was something unsettling about those lean and hungry eyes. Something that reminded her of her own. Her obsession with the Kaiju was every bit as strong, and it had cost her everything resembling a normal life. Even as he lay dying, Harker just wanted to get closer to them. And he was so certain that she was the way to do it that he was willing to go to jail, willing to take the abuse, willing to wait ten years, just for the chance.

Just like her.

Such thoughts kept her from sleep. When she couldn't sleep, she'd go down to Gipsy Danger and settle in the Conn-Pod. And she wanted to do exactly that, but she couldn't... because Gipsy Danger was in pieces right now.

Mako squeezed her eyes shut painfully, trying to keep it all away. She got up and went downstairs.

* * *

Newt noticed her first. "Miss Mori."

Gottlieb turned his chair around from his chalkboard, and nodded a greeting. "So, Miss West?"

"In the brig." Mako reported.

Gottlieb turned to Geiszler. "You owe me ten dollars."

Mako rolled her eyes as Newt paid up. "If you idiots knew who it was, why didn't you say something?"

"We didn't know. That wasn't the bet." Newt grumbled.

"It was fairly obvious after day two of your witch hunt that somebody in the Dome was helping your quarry escape." Gottlieb explained. "We had a small bet that Newton would be called in for questioning as a sympathizer, based on his tattoos alone."

Mako snorted and turned to Newt. "Well, I cleared you. Worth ten bucks?"

Newt snorted. "Yeah."

Gottlieb nodded respectfully. "Rumor has it that using yourself at bait was your plan. It was quite a bold move, if I may say so."

"Well, as I've been living at the Dome for ten years, it figured I should earn my keep." Mako waved that off. "But there was something I wanted to ask the two of you."

Geiszler nodded. "And that is?"

"Well, the Cult was insane, but they were right about one thing." Mako told them. "There's an intelligence at work here. The Kaiju, I mean. They haven't tried any kind of communication, but there's gotta be a plan of some kind to their attacks."

The Brains Trust traded a secretive look. "Continue." Gottlieb said neutrally.

"Well, there's the fact that they navigate so precisely." Mako began. "Animals can navigate by magnetic poles for migration, but they don't zero in on cities. The Press only pick them up at the Miracle Mile; so it's not public knowledge, but the Kaiju go straight to a city they've never seen before. And they fight like trained soldiers. They draw their opponents in, they go straight for the Conn-Pods, they know how to avoid ordinance. It's like they know what their enemies can do."

The Brains Trust traded another furtive glance. "Keep going."

"And why are they evolving like this?" Mako added. "If they were just animals finding their way through the Breach, it would be random, but Doctor Gottlieb has found the formula for the pattern. They're working to a schedule. And if they were just beasts getting spat out of the Underworld, then why do they always get progressively harder to fight? If they were just being sent through one by one, then sooner or later, we'd get one that was easier to beat. The Law of Big Numbers says that sooner or later, there'd be a smaller one in the line-up; but they keep evolving."

Gottlieb looked triumphantly at Geiszler. "See? I told you the patterns were too obvious to miss."

Mako set her jaw. "You two had already figured this out, hadn't you?"

Newt glanced around. "Keep this under your hat, Mako; but we reached all those conclusions a year ago. There are too many signs of an intelligent progression here. The Kaiju evolve the way we design new Jaegers. They're refining the design between each attack, and doing it faster than we can."

"Which means this isn't a monster movie that won't end." Mako nodded. "This is an  _invasion_."

Gottlieb nodded. "Whatever's on the other side of the Breach, they're trying to conquer the earth. And it appears they're winning."

Mako shivered. "The Cult was right. There is a plan. They  _do_  want something." She looked hard at them. "What is it? What do they want?"

"I don't know." Gottlieb shrugged that off. "I deal in certainties, Miss Mori. The only one here is that the Breach is their beachhead."

"There is one way to find out what the Kaiju have planned." Newt put in. "We could ask them."

Mako let out a quick bark of laughter, despite herself. "And how do you plan to do that?"

Newt's eyes flicked to the left before he could stop himself. Mako followed his eyes, and noticed something that made her blood run cold. It was the Training Pons. The same one that had connected her and Jess.

* * *

Mako was staring at her face in the mirror again, holding Jess' hairbrush tightly in one hand. She hadn't done it in months.

There was a light knock at the door. She didn't hear it, but the door's wheel lock spun and Herc let himself in. "Hey, kid."

Mako jumped. "Oh. Hi."

Herc let himself in, and took the brush. For a split second, she thought he was going to start brushing her hair, but he just held it in one hand, resting his other hand on her shoulder. "So, we put the screws to Amy West, and she gave up the Counterfeiting Ring."

"That's good." Mako offered.

"Not really. Once word got out about all the fakes, there were Food Riots across half the USA. It's getting nasty. Word is that Hannibal Chau can't keep up with everyone demanding black market food supplies."

Mako shivered. "What's the best guess?"

"Simple. We don't know how to feed about twenty million people." Herc told her. "At this point, the last official Mission of the PPDC will be to escort Cargo Ships across the Pacific Ocean. Three ships full of emergency food supplies. Then they're going to announce the PPDC is being shut down."

"It's the End of the World." Mako whispered.

Herc hesitated, and nodded a little.

Mako took back the brush and set it down. "But you didn't come to talk about that."

Herc sat down and gestured for her to do the same. Mako flopped down on her bed, feeling like a little kid. "So." She said.

"So." Herc agreed. "I figured there's something you don't want to talk to your father about..."

Mako just looked at him, a little awkward.

"Mako, you're not a secret agent." Herc joshed her. "The Cult managed to dodge every law enforcement agency in the world for a full year. Now, you're smart, and you're good. But you're about as subtle as a brick through a window, and you're about as patient as a hungry cat. You telling me you played them all for fools because you're so damn good?"

Mako looked down. "It worked because my story was so believable." She shivered. "So much like Harker's."

"Mako, I don't need to remind you of the... psychological effects of captivity."

"I wasn't a captive. I volunteered." Mako said distantly, leaning into her 'uncle'. "I didn't go native... but... God, I am haunted by those eyes of his."

"Yeah?"

"He was so... certain. The kind that never questions, no matter what the law, or the facts, or common sense says." She shivered. "When he looked at me, he saw himself. And that scares me a little. Maybe a lot."

Herc nodded. "You're not a Cultist."

"Aren't I? I'm obsessed, I've written my life around them, to the exclusion of everything else... And after Jess..." She looked up at him, scared. "He said... He said I'd go all the way to the Breach." She licked her lips. "Even after Jess died, and I knew it'd never happen? Part of me hoped that maybe... Part of me thought that maybe Gipsy Danger wanted me."

"You don't think so, now?"

Mako shook her head. "She got taken apart... and..." She quickly turned on Herc. "And Gipsy Danger isn't my girl. Not any more. I spent a year fixing her up, and I couldn't... I couldn't save her." Mako looked down. "Stacker went and made me a Department Head, and I had to make a choice. I can fix a MK-2 and a MK-1, or I can pour it all into Gipsy. I had to go and be responsible for once in my life. I had to give up on her."

"You haven't heard." Herc observed.

Mako looked up. "Heard what?" She asked, with a note of hope in her voice.

Herc stood up and held out a hand to her.

* * *

He took her downstairs, to the Hangar. Mako saw it, and gave a real, genuine smile for the first time in what felt like forever. She was walking forward automatically, unaware of her surroundings. Herc ceased to exist. So did everything else.

Gipsy Danger. Reassembled, repainted, chrome polished, locked and loaded.

And at her feet, was Tendo Choi. He saw Mako coming and grinned. Mako became aware of her surroundings again, and glanced back. Herc hadn't followed her off the elevator.

Tendo Choi came over to join her. "She still needs some testing in the engine blocks. Otherwise, she's mission ready."

"Mission Ready..." Mako repeated in jaded awe. Gipsy Danger was ready. Ready to go back into the war.

Tendo held out a clipboard, and she took it, looking over the manifest. Written in the margins was a note.  **Consider it a Thank You. - Chau.**

Mako found herself smiling again.

* * *

"A 'thank you'." Pentecost commented, reading the note.

"I'd be flattered, but it's not a 'Thank You' for me." Mako said plainly. "It's for you."

Stacker gave a single nod, admitting the point. "When you went with Harker, Chau made it five feet out of the hotel before my people were all over him. You were right, he was willing to give us a hell of a lot more than thirty percent."

"The Black Market's not like the Cult." Mako nodded. "They don't want the Kaiju to win, they just want a much bigger payoff from victory than the rest of us do. I think Chau is thanking you for not killing him dead with your bare hands."

Stacker smirked. "Mako, putting Gipsy Danger back into the war wasn't something Chau cooked up. He didn't order it. I did."

Mako nodded. "This was your test run. To see if you could get a Jaeger working without UN support. Because the UN had already pulled the plug on construction... And Chau paid to have it rebuilt."

"That's the idea." Stacker nodded. "Though, to be fair; you did most of the work before the UN pulled the plug on us. Now that you've got Gipsy Danger out of the way, do you think you can do the same with a few other decommissioned Jaegers?"

Mako grinned.


	8. Carry On, Ranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is where the fic starts to overlap with the movie! Hope you enjoy it!

When Mako was six weeks short of her twenty second birthday, she took up the trade of both her fathers.

* * *

_She was back in her father's workshop._

_"You know, Mako... You could do this yourself." Her father suggested._

_Mako was surprised. Her father had never made the offer before. "I could?"_

_"Well, not any time soon, perhaps. You have to be taller than a sword before I let you handle one. Taller still before I let you try and hammer one into life. But, one day."_

_"One day soon."_

_Little Mako spun. Harker was sitting beside her on the counter-top. She was holding his hand. "You're right there." He told her. "I told you, you'd go right up to their Gates and knock."_

_"I remember." Mako whispered, suddenly full grown, still holding his hand._

_"You'll be there." Harker told her, soft and kind. "Soon now. There's no time left for a second chance. You're going to The Breach."_

* * *

Mako woke up sharply. She'd been dreaming about her father's workshop for years now. She'd been dreaming about Harker for only three days. Ever since the Reconstruction Project was completed.

Ever since the Sensei let her in on The Plan.

The Cultist haunted Mako more than she'd ever admit to. She knew that his dying promise that she would be... summoned to the other side of The Breach was nothing but the ravings of a madman.

But she had poured her spirit into Gipsy Danger, and the only mission left for it was to make sure that The Breach ceased to exist.

But she didn't share those thoughts with anyone. They would have thought she was crazy.

* * *

"Are you crazy?" Tendo demanded of her.

Mako smirked without turning around. "I take it you got the memo?"

"A retractable sword?" Tendo said, as though it was insane. "Mako, Jaegers were built to deliver blunt force impact. There's a reason we didn't just stretch some super sci-fi razor wire over the Breach ten years ago and declare victory."

"I haven't forgotten the Kaiju Blue problem." Mako promised. "But nobody's ever tried using long blade weapons before, and I think Doctor Geizler is right about the Kaiju having a Hivemind. We've both viewed the tapes, and the combat. The fewer the Jaegers we have, the more efficient the Kaiju get at fighting them. We haven't surprised the Enemy in five years."

"My grandfather died of Kaiju Blue poisoning." Tendo said darkly.

Normally, that would end the argument. Mako lowered her voice respectfully, just the same. "And Tasmin died from Radiation poisoning; but we're still deploying a nuke for The Plan. It's just as a reserve, and just for the one mission. Just for the next week."

Tendo didn't argue that point. He knew the reasons why. Another week was all they had left. Another week would decide if their last four Steel Samurai would save the world, because there was no time for anything else.

* * *

A Jaeger couldn't carry a sword in any conventional sense. A true samurai blade was hammered and folded and softened and hammered and cooled again until the most hardened materials had completely homogenized into an entirely new, virtually unbreakable element.

To forge a sword like that for a Jaeger would take a forge the size of an active volcano, and a swordsmith the size of Striker Eureka. They couldn't spare the time or equipment.

But retractable parts that merged together into new shapes like a Swiss Army Knife? That was proven Jaeger technology. The same construction methods that could turn a powerful steel fist into a complex plasma cannon.

Mako set up the equipment. The industrial hammers worked day and night, welding together the panels that made each piece of the sword. The grinders ran back and forth along the edges, sharpening each piece. Human hands could never create so many separate pieces with such a uniform edge along them all. The Kaiju War had advanced technology in many directions.

Stress testing was the final stage. Each piece was brought into a solid bunker, and slammed, burned, boiled, stabbed and pressure tested. No humans were allowed in the room during testing. If any of the hyper-alloy pieces were lacking in any way, the shrapnel would be far too lethal.

Mako oversaw the whole thing from the observation room. The testing phase put the sword into impact testing. Huge hydraulic hammers, slamming against the metal in rhythm, trying to make it bend.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Over and over in perfect machine rhythm.

Mako couldn't help the smirk. It was the same rhythm her father used when he forged a samurai blade.

"Until now, 'Swordmaker' was a metaphor." She said to herself in Japanese, as if in prayer. "I'm sorry it took so long, Papa. But I remember everything you taught me."

* * *

"What is your fascination with his file?" Pentecost asked her. She jumped, caught unawares. The Marshal had come to the hangar, and she hadn't even noticed, reading a file she'd already memorized. Raleigh Becket's file.

"He's the only one that survived." Mako explained. "You lost Tasmin after years out of combat. All the other pilots that lost a partner  _Mid-Drift_? They all, without exception, committed suicide, or just... faded away to nothing. I've seen the other survivors. They're all near comatose all day and all night, or too insane to tell. This one is different."

"You think so?" Pentecost commented. "Becket volunteered for The Wall. Top level. All those amateurs working for food? Take a look at the numbers some time. Wall Construction is the only line of work with a worse life expectancy than Jaeger Pilots. Becket's been trying to kill himself ever since he lost his brother."

"Maybe, but if he's lasted this long it's because he wants to." She turned the page over. "Plus, he finished the fight and drove his Jaeger back to land, and he did it solo. You and he are the only ones that ever managed that."

"Mako." He warned her. "Don't think that just because we managed to stagger back, that means solo piloting is an option."

Heavy silence. The subject of her being a pilot had not been discussed since Jess died.

"I'm not pushing." Mako promised, her voice very calm. "I tried my very best, and I failed." There was no accusation in her voice.

"I remember." He said neutrally.

"But I put everything left over into making Gipsy Danger ready, and I'd like to know what it takes to keep her on her feet." She tapped the file. "This is the only man alive who knows the answer to that question better than me. I want to give my girl the best chance to do what I know I never will."

Stacker actually looked embarrassed. She had shut him down perfectly.

"You know..." Stacker said silkily. "I can remember a time when you thought that it would be far more merciful to have anyone who lost a partner Mid-Drift taken out and shot."

"I know." Mako admitted darkly. "Then it happened to me."

Stacker turned to leave her, and then paused at the door. "Have you spoken to her since... well, since?"

"Tess and Moira have more important things to worry about than my guilt." Mako brushed it off. "Especially since Tess tried to... well, since then."

Stacker nodded. "All right. I'll expect a list of potential candidates for Gipsy Danger. And I  _won't_  expect you to be on it."

He was on his way out, and never saw her twitch at the statement.

* * *

"Marshal Pentecost, I have Marshal Hansen on line two."

Stacker signaled for Tendo to route it to his private office, and moved off to speak to his second in command in private. "Where are you at?"

"The Russian and American Domes are all shut down. China in two days." Herc reported. "We're getting ready to re-deploy Striker Eureka."

"Actually, it'd be best if you stayed there another few days." Stacker told him. "The Brains Trust says they're expecting a Breach sometime tomorrow. We're the only two Domes still open, so we're going to have to cover the whole Pacific Rim."

"Can't be done." Herc told him. "The whole Rim with two Staging Areas?"

"That's why I saved Australia for last. Striker Eureka is still the best gun we've got. I've got the Russians on the way, so if it heads north, I can deploy them in route. If it heads west, I can cover it here. If it heads south or east, you'll be the only one we've got in play."

"I don't know, Boss; maybe we don't have to worry." Herc said brightly. "The Anti-Kaiju Wall is fully completed all along the Australian Coast, and most of the United States. Wouldn't staying on call be a huge waste of time and money?"

Dead silence.

Stacker and Herc broke into mirthless cynical laughter.

"Listen, I'll stay at my post as long as I can." Herc told him. "Chuck's currently trying to bully the helicopter pilots into staying on Base another day, but there's widespread looting across a lot of Australia, and they're worried that if they don't run for it now, their kids may go hungry."

"We're seeing the same thing in Europe and the US." Stacker nodded. "Once the Market closes, all bets are off."

"I heard a story out of Wall Street that the police have closed the streets because of all the millionaires jumping out of windows." Herc agreed grimly. "God, Stacker; we're paying our pilots to stay overtime with stale bread."

Long hard silence.

"What do you think of Raleigh Becket?" Stacker asked after a while.

"Becket?" Herc was surprised by the question. "I admire him tremendously. He and I fought together in a Three-J drop guarding Manilla."

"I remember." Herc nodded. "It took three Jaegers over a day to pin that mother down and kill it."

"Moving in and out of us like a ghost." Herc said grimly. "I thought the Neural Handshake was going to kill us all, but we cornered it at last. The Becket brothers held it together longer than the rest of us put together." Herc sighed. "I feel bad, actually."

"Why?"

"I never went to see him after his brother died." Herc explained. "And-wait." His voice froze. "You're not... You're not thinking of redeploying Gipsy Danger?"

"Mako says it'll be better than new soon enough."

"The Machine, sure. But who... Mako?"

"Why not?"

"Why not?" Herc repeated. "You want to pull my son in here and ask him the same question?"

"Herc, you know I respect anyone who can make a half dozen kills in the real world, but your son is hardly objective when it comes to Mako Mori."

"Neither are you." Herc pointed out. "You've been looking for a reason to give her everything she wanted for ten years. But you know as well as I do, there's a reason she was bounced."

"Of course I do, I was the one that bounced her."

"She's a rejected novice, he's a Death-Drift burnout. You want to put them both in a ten year old Class Three, and send them against Cat-4's?"

"No." Stacker said decisively. "Mako's working up a list right now. She might put him on it, but I doubt he'd say yes, even if I asked."

Silence.

"You  _want_  him on the list." Herc said with a smile in his voice. "Don't you?"

Stacker hesitated. "See you in a few days."

* * *

The Dome personnel hadn't changed that much since the UN had shut them down. Some had gone home. When they relocated Locent Operations to Asia, a few had stayed behind to remain with their families.

But the vast majority of them decided to come with Stacker Pentecost. Mako wasn't even surprised. They all knew the War was lost. Most of them came to the PPDC because they had lost something or someone important to them. Stacker had trained them well, and most of them thought he could hold back a Kaiju with a glare.

As the world fell down around them, Stacker Pentecost's people chose to stair with their Marshal, at their posts, fighting back until the end.

Recruits, however, were another matter. Most of the Base personnel had two or three skills. Everyone did the work of at least two people.

If Jess had lived, they wouldn't have a Jaeger to give her. She'd probably be in the Control Room, or the...

_Or the Recovery Teams. If she'd been put on a recovery team, she'd probably be dead with the rest of the team._

Mako pushed the thoughts of Jess away, and collected her tablet, carrying it to Gipsy Danger.

* * *

Gipsy never spoke to her in words, but when she was inside it, she could feel a shiver in the air. It felt like her nightmares. Whenever she had a vivid dream of her father's workshop, she awoke with a very particular feeling; part panic, part adrenaline.

"Okay..." She thought aloud. "Pilots for my Gipsy."

The Base personnel had voted to come with Stacker to the Last Dome, but the pilots list had changed completely. Every pilot that was waiting for a Jaeger to be built had been told that there wasn't one coming. The candidates she had left were still the best, and had stayed with the PPDC because they were the best at something else too. Some other talent that was essential to keeping the Dome open and prepared for the final battle.

Mako sighed as she tapped at her tablet. There was a time when this would be agony. Choosing someone else to have what she craved more than anything.

But Gipsy was hers, more than anyone else alive. She owed it to the machine to find the right pilots. More than any other missing part, the Soul of her Sword had to be right.

"Jackie and Adam Morgan." She thought aloud. "Ranked high eighties, Australian team, received high marks for memory recall and battle tactics." She looked up at the Conn-Pod around her. The room felt dead. Not empty, not quiet; dead.

Mako nodded, as though the stillness was the only answer she needed. "I agree. Knowing typical battle tactics won't help any more. This isn't a typical mission." She went to the next name. "Carlos and Vannessa Santiago."

Mako worked with the list for half an hour, weighing up practically everyone on Base. Gipsy gave her no answer for any of them. Which didn't worry her. Months could pass without an answer, or a hint, or a whisper from the Steel Samurai. The moments of connection came only when needed.

Whenever Yancy Becket or Gipsy Danger starred in her dreams, she awoke with determination, even protectiveness. The feeling would stay with her all morning, as though she was feeling something in the air that brought it out in her.

With the list of name weighed and judged, Mako was silent a moment; until she pulled up the file. "Raleigh Becket."

The moment she had said the name aloud, the air in Gipsy Danger changed. The Steel Samurai knew that name. Becket was the Missing Part in the Machine. The only thing that Mako couldn't repair or replace.

"He'll say no." She whispered. "I can give him the list, but he'll say no."

She said it, but she was already typing. Raleigh Becket was now on the short-list for piloting Gipsy Danger.

Mako licked her lips and looked up at the Machine for a while... Before typing her own name onto the list too.

Mako clicked 'send' and waited.

It took less than forty five seconds for her to be Summoned.

* * *

Stacker didn't even look up as Mako came in. "I thought we had an agreement about your name being on this list."

Mako took a deep breath. "There's nobody else as qualified."

"Mako, I ran Command and Control for the Becket Brothers. Their last fight too."

"I remember." Mako nodded. She was a girl at the time, but she remembered every Jaeger Jockey that fell along the Miracle Mile.

"Mako, the Becket's were always Mavericks. And you know better than most: A Death-Drift doesn't make you more stable and reliable, it does the opposite."

"Is that it?" Mako blurted. "It's not that you don't think he's qualified, it's just that you don't like him?"

"I think he's reckless." Stacker said plainly. "Even at his best, he was unpredictable."

"He doesn't fight by the book." Mako agreed. "I studied his tactics. He doesn't follow standard combat techniques. But that can only help us now. You know how fast the Kaiju learn. Everyone who fought by the book is dead."

"I don't disagree." Stacker nodded. "But he often took risks that didn't work out, and that injured himself and his crew. I'm not a hundred percent sure that losing Swan Delta to Warpore wasn't his fault back in 2016. His part in this mission is to be protection and backup. You don't want your bodyguards doing the unexpected, you want them right at your six, where they're meant to be. He's not the man for this."

Mako wanted to argue, but she couldn't.

"Why are you so eager anyway?" Stacker asked her coldly. "We both know that win or lose, Gipsy isn't coming back from this."

Mako froze. "What do you mean?"

"The mission is to run defense for Striker Eureka. If we're right about the Breach being the point of an Invasion-"

"We are." Mako put in.

"-then we'll almost certainly face opposition out there."

"We will." Mako agreed.

"Mako, think that through. Gipsy's job is to hold down a Kaiju while someone else makes the run. You want Gipsy Danger in the fight, or you want it safe?"

"A ship is safe in the harbor. But that's not what ships are built for." Mako pointed out.

"Well, you've got the file. You tell me, can Becket be trusted?"

Mako hesitated. "There's nothing in the files past the death of his brother."

Stacker nodded. "Mako... I don't want Becket's name on this list. And I don't want yours there either."

Mako shivered. "And why do I think it's for the same reason?"

Stacker was silent a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was low and gentle. "Mako, there's nobody who deserves Gipsy Danger more than you. Your vendetta wasn't a good reason, but love for that Machine? That's a better one. But there's still a huge open wound in you, and it's poison to The Drift. I told you I have to keep you safe."

Jess's ghost came out of the past and made Mako want to cry. "I know."

Stacker slid the tablet over to her. "Would you like to revise the list of candidates?"

Mako took it. "Okay." She said meekly and left the office.

* * *

A day later, and she still couldn't really fault him. He was trying to protect her, and protect the world. He couldn't really do both.

And the world was ending. Nobody had time left. Not for anything. Stacker was the only one with something approaching a plan to actually save the world. He didn't have time to do it with style, he had to do it smart.

_And then there's you_. She told herself.  _He's right. You can't be trusted in a Drift._

Mako pushed that thought away quickly.

"Mako."

She turned away from her musings to see Tendo Choi waving her down. He had a piece of paper in one hand. "We have a request from the UN. I was told to deliver it to the Marshal."

Mako rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time a nonsense order had come to the Dome. Tendo and Mako had an agreement to keep anything too stupid for words away from his desk. Since Mako was the Sensei's personal assistant, she could block anything from going through. "I'll assume you reminded them that we no longer have anything to do with them?"

"I did." Tendo nodded. "And then they reminded me that as a private company, we were still subject to laws regarding use of technology, armaments, etc."

"I assume you told them that we were in Hong Kong now, and so China was the only nation we needed to sort out violations with?" Mako responded by rote. The Last Dome had this conversation with at least one Government a month.

"I did. And then they offered to reinstate us."

Mako snorted. "In return for?"

"Redeploying all our Jaegers to the defense of Safe Zone Alpha."

Mako gave a little trill of pure disgust. The Safe Zones were compounds, hundreds of miles inland, two in America, one in Eastern Europe. There were rumors that the true protection were large Kaiju Shelters, deep underground. As The Marshal's assistant, Mako was aware that the bunkers were stocked with food and water and luxuries... and were only big enough to hold a few hundred people each. Anyone who could afford it had a reserved spot.

And now apparently, they wanted Jaegers as guard dogs on their front lawn, while the rest of the world got eaten.

Mako took the message from Tendo and read it carefully. "Well, we can't ignore a message from the United Nations."

"No, we cannot." Tendo agreed.

Mako ripped the page up instantly. "Too bad the message was garbled in transmission."

Tendo smirked and peeled off. "That's what I think."

Mako hadn't even broken stride, on her way to the Brains Trust.

* * *

'The Newt and Hernann Show' had not become anything approaching friendly in the year since they'd gone private. Hernann Gottlieb needled little more than his chalkboard. He wouldn't even accept the use of calculators unless he absolutely had to. Newt Geiszler, on the other hand, wept for the loss of resources, and had quickly gathered up every scrap of Kaiju meat that Hannibal Chau's boys had left them.

Mako had avoided the Kaiju samples that covered every flat surface in Newt's half of the lab. Some of them had come from Thresher, the last Kaiju to make landfall in the USA.

The pride and joy of the messy collection was Thresher's backup Cardio-Neural structure. Somehow, even months later, it was still clinging to life. Contained in a large glass case, drowned in formaldehyde, the huge secondary heart gave a single beat once a week.

Newt was far more interested in the brain. Mako despised it. The secondary system had woken the Kaiju just long enough to kill her whole team.

"Miss Mori." Newt saw her coming. "Always good to see you. What can I do for you today?"

"You can give me the Training Pons you have hidden in that cabinet." Mako pointed at the cabinet directly from clear across the room.

Newt blinked, caught out. A moment later he turned a furious gaze on Gottlieb. "HERNANN!"

The math prodigy didn't even blink. "You can be as stupid as you like, but I draw the line at suicide. Less than five percent of that grey matter even has an energy signature. Ten percent or less is dead, by Drift standards. You know what happens if you Drift with the dead?"

"If you don't, I'd be happy to explain it to you." Mako put in archly.

Newt was about to respond when the alarm suddenly went off.

"BREACH!" Someone shouted in the hallway and everyone was suddenly running to their action stations.

Mako was moving too. "Newt, I'm not going to forget about this!" She hollered over her shoulder.

* * *

Mako sprinted up to the Control Room. Everyone was at their posts...

But there was no sign of Stacker Pentecost.

Mako stepped forward without thinking and spoke to Tendo. "What have we got?"

"Breach Event about thirty minutes ago." Tendo reported. "Looks like another Category 4; Codename Mutavore."

"Thirty minutes? Why didn't we know about it immediately?" Mako demanded.

Tendo looked sick about it. "Because we only have the budget to replace the sensors along the Western-"

"Right." Mako waved it off. The undersea sensors were laid out a good bit wide of the Breach. Any sensor that got too close was quickly cooked by the energy discharge of a Breach Event. "Who picked it up?"

"Navy helicopters doing a supply drop noticed the mass. Nobody's heard from them since they reported it."

"Which means it can move fast in the water, if it managed to catch a chopper." Mako thought aloud. "Which way is it heading?"

"South. Looks like it'll hit Australia in about-"

Mako clapped a hand on Tendo's shoulder in sudden worry. "Striker Eureka!"

"Is already on the way here." Tendo nodded.

"They were supposed to wait until-"

"I know, their schedule changed." Tendo tried to follow three topics at once. "There's not a lot of aircraft that can carry a Class Five Jaeger across the Pacific Ocean, Mako. When they've got to go, they've got to go. They've doubled back and are trying to catch up to the damn thing, but our best projections say it'll reach the Wall at least an hour before Striker can deploy."

Mako couldn't help the smirk. "Now we find out how much the Wall is worth." Striker Eureka and crew were on their way to Tokyo for the Final Run on the Breach. If they'd had to double back, it meant they were chasing the Kaiju. A Kaiju was fast, especially in the ocean. Faster than a Carrier Formation. There was no chance they'd catch it until it stopped somewhere.

But for now, that couldn't be helped. Mako glanced around the control room. "Tendo, where the hell is Marshal Pentecost?"

Tendo looked at her, surprised. "He's on his way to Alaska."

"Alaska?"

"Yeah, the Wall construction site. He's on his way to pick up-"

Mako said the name with him. "Raleigh Becket."

Tendo nodded. "He didn't tell you he was going?" He asked, unaware of the argument that had gone on for days between father and daughter.

* * *

They had warning enough to evacuate Brisbane. Helicopters were all over the place, waiting to see this true test of the Wall of Life. But after an hour, the Kaiju hadn't emerged. Striker Eureka was a few minutes away, but there was no sign of their target.

"Striker to Locent, come in." Herc called over the radio. "You have a Twenty on the bogey?"

"Negative, Eureka, our screens are clear." Tendo answered.

"There's no way we beat it here." Herc said tightly. "Are you sure about that heading?"

"As sure as we can be." Mako put in. "With half our monitors shut down, we're stuck with a best guess."

"Movement!" Tendo shouted from his screen. "I've got it! It's... oh god. It's not hitting Brisbane, Striker. Repeat, Contact is heading for Sydney!"

"Which means not only have we evacuated the wrong city, we're actually in the wrong place!" Herc swore violently under his breath. "Send in the Carriers, NOW! We've got to-"

"Too Late." Mako said quietly, staring at a newsfeed. There on screen was an immense Kaiju, bigger than anything Mako had seen before. It had swum into Sydney Harbor, and stopped to sniff at the Anti-Kaiju Wall. It was the first time any Kaiju had reached the Wall without having to fight a Jaeger first.

The entire Control Room was frozen, staring at the screen. Despite themselves, they knew the Wall was their only hope of slowing the monster down until Striker Eureka got there. Not a single person in the PPDC believed the Wall was any good, but it was the only hope that millions of people had.

The Kaiju rose up to stand tall, resting its claws against the Wall. The news had a great shot of the thing. It was three hundred feet tall, with a large crescent shaped head, and three eyes on either side of the bladed bone that ran down the centre of it's face. It rested its Crescent shaped head against the Wall... and a moment later it pushed straight through. Hundreds of tonnes of concrete and welded steel, and Mutavore pushed through it like it was made of cardboard.

Mako swore violently in two different languages. "Tendo, how long until-"

"At least another half hour." Tendo answered her before she had a chance to get the question out.

_What would Stacker do?_  Mako asked herself.  _We have no assets left to deploy, no authority to use them anyway, no time to evacuate and no power to order an evacuation._

And so, the PPDC, just stood by and watched the constant news feed as Sydney was torn apart for a full forty minutes, until Striker Eureka arrived to fight back.

Mako wrung her hands for only the third time in her life and finally settled on something to do. She called her Sensei.

"Report." He said by way of greeting. His tone was the same he had when he was in the Control Room himself.

Mako reported instantly. "The Wall is worthless."

"Now report something I  _don't_  know." Stacker told her coldly.

"With our warning sensors scaled back, we only got a general direction. We figured Brisbane because they'd never hit it before, and because it was closer. We were wrong. It made Landfall at Sydney five minutes ago. Striker is still half an hour out."

Stacker swore under his breath. "Casualties?"

"We don't have official alert channels any more. If you're watching the news, you know everything we do." Mako growled, gripping the phone hard enough to bend it. "And what are you doing back in Alaska anyway?"

"Well, my personal assistant and the Head of Recovery Program agreed that Gipsy Danger would have the best chance with its best pilot at the helm. The best pilots Gipsy Danger ever had were the Becket Brothers."

"As I recall, you said she was wrong." Mako said tightly.

"I changed my mind." Stacker said, very calm.

Mako tensed. When Stacker sounded calm, it meant the universe was not obeying his plan as it should. "He turned you down, didn't he?"

Stacker didn't respond to that. "I'll be back tomorrow with a new candidate. Put out the good Mess Trays."

He hung up and Mako checked the War Clock. They still had another twenty six minutes before battle was joined.

Long enough to go downstairs and confiscate a Drift Machine.

* * *

Striker Eureka caught up to Codename Mutavore in Sydney at last and hit it at a full charge. The Monster was able to evade the first charge, guided by whatever sixth sense the Kaiju had.

Mutavore went in and out of the buildings, trying to push them over on Striker Eureka. The Monster and the Steel Samurai never got within reach of each other, the Kaiju dancing on limbs that were way too big to be so nimble.

"Well, this is getting old." Mako commented. "Striker Eureka, be aware of the building in your three o'clock position. There are morons on the rooftop, filming the fight."

"Copy that, Base." Herc grunted, trying to hold up a tower before it fell on him. "Activating Missile Batteries."

Striker Eureka's torso opened, and a half dozen missiles launched toward Mutavore. The Kaiju spun away and ducked into a side street, but the missiles turned to give chase, enough to clip the creature from behind.

Striker Eureka was the fastest Jaeger ever built, and it gave chase as the missiles knocked Mutavore sprawling into a row of buildings. It rolled to it's feet, just as Striker caught it around the throat. The huge bulk of the Category Four all but wiped out the superior grip of the Jaeger. The Creature rolled them both, as Striker tried to get back on top.

Mako grit her teeth as Mutavore pinned the Jaeger, bending down to bite the Machine's head off with one bite.

There was dead silence in the Control Room, watching to see if Striker was doomed, when the Kaiju suddenly lurched, throwing back it's head in a scream.

An instant later, the Plasmacaster became visible to the cameras, firing steadily into the Monster's chest.

Mutavore rolled to the side, bleeding fluorescent goop all over the place. Striker rolled it its feet and gave chase. Mutavore ran to the next intersection and spun on it's claws, ready to meet it head on.

"Look out!" Mako and Tendo both said under their breath, as the huge warriors collided, and slammed into the nearest building. The building with the cameraman on it.

The picture went to instant static, as everyone in the Control Room swore. The news was their only source of information now.

"The Battle's at Centrepoint Plaza!" Tendo called.

Mako went over to his console. "Where'd you get that from?" She looked at his screen. "Twitter?"

"Don't knock it, CNN gets its News off Twitter now, too." Tendo shot back, clicking the refresh button a dozen times a second. "Looking good..."

Mako suddenly remembered that there was no Marshal in the room. "Locent to Striker Eureka, we don't have eyes on the battle any more."

"Keep your shorts on, Mako." Chuck grunted. "Fox Two!"

"HIT!" Herc shouted a second later. "Fire again!"

The news station had picked up another camera feed, and the screen lit up just in time to show Mutavore taking the hit. The Hansens had aimed perfectly, nailing the side of the wedge-shaped head, instead of coming at it head on. Mutavore gave a last, groaning roar and fell hard to the ground, dead.

A bloodthirsty cheer echoed quietly around the room, but there wasn't really a feeling of victory.

Mako keyed her radio. "Report?"

"We're good. Damage is... relatively light." Herc reported. "But we're going to have to delay our ETA until we can assess the structural stresses. Don't want one of her arms falling off while being choppered across the pacific.

"Understood. Still, the Breach Event is over." Mako tried to sound optimistic. "It's now the longest possible time until the next one."

"The Old Man says we have to make the run before the next one." Chuck put in.

Mako let out a shuddering breath. This was the last 'regular' battle in the Great Kaiju War. The next round was the Title Fight. The War was ending. She looked to Tendo. "Restart The Clock!"

Tendo nodded, and started the War Clock ticking again from zero. There was a time it counted down to the next Breach; but now the clock counted up. It reminded them that they never knew for sure, but that time was always against them.

Tendo slid in next to Mako and showed her something on his tablet. "The authorities are trying to organize a cleanup, now that we no longer have a presence there. Don't let them drag Striker into moving the body for them. You're needed here."

"Understood."

"Herc, there's probably some reporters around too. We wouldn't want to take advantage of this." Mako counseled. "It would be petty to use this event to sneer at The Wall, tell off the UN..."

"Right. People are dead. It wouldn't be right to... strut." Herc agreed.

"It would be downright childish in fact." Mako declared.

"I agree." Herc said with due gravity. "I'll have Chuck talk to the reporters."

Mako grinned.

* * *

Mako stayed in the Control Room the entire time Stacker was gone. She knew that her Sensei would want a full report on everything he missed before he landed. That way none of his staff would have to brief him. Mako had been his eyes and ears in the Base since she was ten years old; and she knew she wasn't the only one. As a result, when someone had a problem, Stacker never needed to be told about it, because he always knew everything already. The effect was like Stacker was somehow psychic. Some of the Cadets had believed that The Old Man could see through the walls of the Dome.

Mako checked the radar to see his helicopter coming into range, and quietly excused herself to the Marshal's private office. Right on cue, his private phone line rang, and she answered it.

"Report." Stacker commanded without her having to say anything.

Mako made the full report. "Striker Eureka is back en route. Cleanup in Sydney is... not happening. All the support personnel were disbanded, since the Wall had been completed." The scorn was dripping from her voice, but Stacker didn't respond to it, letting her finish her report. "With the latest Breach Event out of the way, all the remaining Jaegers are inbound. We staggered their departure to get them all here at the same time. That way we could cover more of the ocean, and save a lot of money on the logistics and transport costs. They should get here around the same time you do."

"Good." Stacker answered. "What's the response been to Mutavore?"

Mako took a breath. "Riots have broken out in New York. Hundreds of thousands are marching on the UN, demanding the Jaeger Program be restored."

"It won't help. Not any more." Stacker said blandly. "It takes  _years_  to build a Jaeger. If they gave us a blank check right now, we'd never get enough Machines built in time."

"I know." Mako said quietly. "The protest was peaceful for about ten minutes. The UN building has been evacuated, and the general feeling is that it's only a matter of time before they'll have to use deadly force to disperse the crowd. I'm watching on the news. It's ugly."

"Nothing we can do about that right now."

Mako glanced back at the door, making sure there was nobody there. "One more thing?"

"Tell me."

"We got our food shipment in this morning. It's about half what it should be. Our people are telling us that there are mass walk-outs in every production house and food plant that supplies us. Us and everyone else, come to that. I think word's getting out that none of the workers are going to be paid after the Stock Market closes next week."

"What are the odds it'll never reopen?"

"Pretty good, from what I hear." Mako nodded to herself. "But the people working the warehouses are basically stealing all the food they can carry and running for it. They've deployed the military to keep order, but soldiers are going AWOL by the thousands from every branch of the service. They need to eat too, and pretty much every military on the planet has already blown through the emergency rations, trying to keep whole town populations fed."

"Well, the soldiers going AWOL won't go hungry till they run out of bullets." Stacker let out a breath. "Nothing we can do about that either, except to end this war."

Mako chewed her lip. "Marshal, if we do manage to do this thing... Is it going to matter? I mean, the world has pretty much fallen apart."

"Mako, don't underestimate what people can do, when they have the chance to do it. That's our job, to give people time to do what they can do."

"Time." Mako agreed, saying the word like a curse. None of them ever had enough time. "Something else you should know. Geiszler hasn't given up on the idea of drifting with the Kaiju Brain. I took the Machine he was adapting, but-"

"That won't stop him for long." Stacker agreed. "I'll deal with it when I get back."

"Okay." Mako licked her lips, suddenly nervous. "Is... Is he with you?"

She could hear him hesitate. "Yes."

Mako took a deep, slow breath, trying to get her sudden attack of nerves under control. "Okay. "I'll meet you at the heli-pad."

* * *

Mako was waiting the second the helicopter set down. Raleigh Becket stepped out and Mako was almost at attention.

Stacker met her eyes. He almost looked amused.  _Well?_ His gaze said to her.  _Everything you hoped?_

Mako fought down her first reaction. "I imagined him differently." She told her Sensei in Japanese.

"Better or worse?" Becket asked, unconcerned, also in Japanese.

The response surprised her. She knew he'd been stationed in Asia for a while, but most of the English speaking pilots had only learned enough of other languages to communicate with their Locent Commanders. When Stacker took over the entire theater, it didn't matter any more, since The Old Man spoke half a dozen languages.

She apologized, of course, but Raleigh seemed not to care. In fact, he didn't seem to care about much of anything.

She had expected someone more.. hollow. Broken. She had expected someone half missing. This man was... focused. Like the things taken away had just made what remained turn harder and stronger.

Mako kept pace with both of them. She'd seen Stacker, who was rotting inside from Radiation Scarring. She'd seen Taylor, who was broken so completely she couldn't believe he was ever normal. And Tess...

Raleigh was something else entirely. He was notably incomplete. She could see the pieces of him that were dull, empty... But it hadn't made him less than a person, just detached. He wasn't laughing, or growling, or happy, or angry. He was simply apart from the world. It wasn't that he didn't care, it was that he was unreachable. He didn't care what Chuck said. He didn't care that Newt was going on and on about Knifehead...

Mako watched him carefully. The way he moved was the same way Gipsy moved in the footage. But his detachment had her worried. She was the least 'open' person she knew, and that's why she was rejected from the Program.

The Marshal peeled off to handle another crisis, and Mako continued the tour. The fact that he wouldn't engage was starting to worry her...

And then Raleigh Becket saw Gipsy Danger.

Suddenly his face was nothing but connection. It was like he was coming home after years away. In a very real sense, that was exactly what was happening.

Mako stepped back and let him have his moment with the Machine.

The universe was suddenly nothing to him. He wasn't even aware of the Dome, or Mako, or anything else. He and Gipsy Danger, together again. His soul in a Steel Samurai, parted for too long.

She said nothing for a long moment, watching his face. She imagined she had a similar expression whenever she was alone with Gipsy Danger.

Tendo came over and met Becket in a warm embrace. The first smile Mako had seen from Raleigh. She wondered if he and Tendo were close, or if it was being back with Gipsy that made him more settled as a person, more than just a survivor.

Mako felt proud of herself for a moment. Against all the odds, she had put them back together. They were the Sword. She was the Swordmaker.

The instant that thought hit her, Mako suddenly felt sick, the smile draining off her face in horror. She had never thought of it before, but Raleigh Becket was the last missing part. With him returned, Gipsy Danger was as fixed as human hands could make it.

With her original pilot returned, Gipsy Danger wouldn't need her. Not ever again. No more repairs, no more fighting over costs and time and tools and parts, no more improvements or innovations...

Gipsy was ready for her last mission, and if she won, the War would be over... and if she failed, the War would be over and Mako would be dead.

And she knew with certainty that if Stacker was bringing back Raleigh Becket, then he'd made up his mind which of them would get the coveted Pilot position. He had told her point blank that she wasn't even on the list.

Mako felt sick. It was happening all over again. She had worked so hard to be the best candidate, and her refusal to slow down for anyone else was what disqualified her. And now she had done everything possible to make Gipsy Danger ready, and now it was ready, with no need of her.

Mako was suddenly irrelevant to Gipsy Danger. And even more irrelevant to the whole War, once again.

* * *

Stacker let her show Becket to his room. It was an unusual move for Stacker. He'd never sent her off with anyone. Since Harker, he didn't like leaving her alone for too long.

But Raleigh was different. She knew that before he'd arrived. Even before Stacker went to get him.

Mako had been practically 'communing' with his machine for almost three years, and now she had met the source of this ghostly will. The science explained why Gipsy seemed to have something more than spare parts. Part of the Becket Brothers was still hardwired into the Machine AI.

Mako had dedicated herself to Gipsy Danger. Meeting her missing part was so incredibly... tempting.

He had asked her about her job. She had told him about her goals, her simulator scores, and finally the sparring matches he had scheduled.

"I hope you approve of my choices." Mako offered. "I've studied your fighting techniques and strategy... even Alaska."

"What do you think?"

_I think that with you here, I'm a Ronin again._  Mako thought to herself.  _With you here, The Old Man and the Steel Samurai don't need me any more._

Aloud, she tried to make it sound better. "I..." She backed down. "I don't make that call. I go where The Marshal leads."

"I'm asking for your opinion."

Mako had several opinions. Some of them were purely selfish. Some of them were frankly envious. One or two were... eager.

She wanted to tell him all about her own connection to Gipsy Danger. She wanted to tell him about the dreams that the Drift had put in her mind. She wanted to tell him that nobody loved his Machine more than her...

But Mako was not a particularly open person. She couldn't bring herself to say any of those things.

Instead, she gave him the Sensei's opinion. "I think you're unpredictable. You have a habit of deviating from standard combat techniques, you take risks that injure yourself and your crew. I don't think you're the right man for this mission."

What she didn't say, was that she was exactly the same.

Raleigh didn't even blink. She knew from her experience with Jess that he'd told himself worse after Knifehead. "Well, thank you for your honesty. You might be right. But one day when you're a pilot you're gonna see that in combat you'll make decisions, you have to live the consequences. That's what I'm trying to do."

Mako nodded respectfully and fled the room. Stacker had assigned him a room... right across the hall from hers. She wasn't sure if that was a message or not, but when she returned to her room, she could see him through the peephole in her door.

She'd left his room out of a simple need to get her head together. Jess had made it her mission to get Mako a boyfriend once, and the effort had caused nothing but disaster. Mako found herself wishing she'd gone on some of those blind dates Jess offered during their final year. She might have known what she was doing around Becket, staring at him from across the hall, even as he changed clothes.

Raleigh had scars. Terrible scars... But all of them on his right side. She knew that the Jaeger he was in had been damaged that way, but it looked as though something had been attached to him and ripped away to the point where it could have killed him.

Mako shivered. That was exactly what had happened. The joined thing that had been torn out of him was his brother.

Mako tried not to act like an eager schoolgirl, but she knew. Knew it in her bones. Knew it in her blood. Right down to her soul. He was the One. Pentecost was pulling in every Jaeger still standing. The end of the world was at hand, and there was no point planning for tomorrow. If things were so tight and desperate that they'd gone all the way across the world to find this one man who'd already lost his seat at the table.

Mako knew. He was her way in. He was the only one like her. Looking for one last chance to stand at the flashpoint of human existence and deal a little punishment and didn't care if he died trying. Just like her.

* * *

She returned to the Control Room, and found Tendo at his post. Gipsy Danger was being moved into the Primary Bay Position. Mako shivered at the sight. Tendo was getting her ready for Raleigh and his future copilot.

"So." Tendo slipped over next to her. "You going to make a move?"

Mako looked at him, speechless.

"C'mon, Mako. I've been around Pentecost as long as you have." He said blandly. "We both know that if The Old Man was really against it, he could have bounced you out of the Dome at any point. We both know if he disapproved of Raleigh that much, he wouldn't have gone out and brought the man back. At the very least, he could have sent me or someone else to do it."

Mako looked back out the window. Gipsy Danger stared back.

"Tasmin said..." Mako cleared her throat. She rarely spoke of Tasmin to anyone. "Tasmin said that if someone was worth it, he would stand up to Stacker for me. At the time, I thought she was giving me dating advice; but it's more than that, isn't it?" She glanced around. "If Tasmin was here, I wonder if she'd tell me to do the same."

"The Marshal isn't an unreasonable man, Mako. But you're his daughter. The rules have always been different with you."

"I know." Mako nodded. "I know I screwed up my shot. But I always thought, even after Jess, I always thought that sooner or later... I'd get my chance."

Tendo was about to answer when Stacker Pentecost marched in, on his way to his private office. "Miss Mori, report." He commanded without breaking stride.

Mako gave Tendo a quick look. The man smiled gently. "I'd go for it." He offered quietly.

Mako took a breath, and turned to follow the Marshal. "The candidates are ready, we will commence the trials immediately, sir." She reported.

"Good."

"But there is one thing..."

He cut her off before she could say it. "Mako, we have talked about this, we will not be talking about it again."

"You promised me." Mako hissed. He sent her a hard look, and she switched to Japanese. "I should be the one driving Gipsy with him."

"Mako, vengeance is like an open wound. You cannot take that level of emotion into the drift." He told her, not for the first time.

She'd heard the arguments before, but knew this was her last chance to win it. "I need to..."

"If we had more time. " He told her, and on anyone else, his expression would have looked sad.

Mako let him go. She was aware of the entire Control Room watching them. She fought down the emotion, and left the room. Stacker had never shut her down in front of other people unless she was doing something royally stupid.

Keeping her expression blank, she turned and left the Control Room.

* * *

She wasn't two feet into the hallway before she ran into another unpleasant memory.

"I knew you were full of it."

Mako grit her teeth. "Hello again, Chuck."

Chuck fell into step behind her. "When you said you were done pushing for Combat? I knew that was all talk."

"It wasn't." She told him.

"Yes it was." Chuck snorted. "Or why is Becket here? Couldn't find anyone else? We both know that it would have been kinder to shoot him the second he stepped off Gipsy Danger. But you bring back the old wreck and that makes him your only option for a Co-Pilot."

Mako turned around. "Chuck, in the three years since Jess, I've never once done anything to you except sit quietly and take your abuse; but I'm going to call you on that one. I haven't pushed for Combat since Jess. Bringing Raleigh here was The Marshal's idea."

Chuck nodded, as though this was the most reasonable thing in the world. "Okay. But I bet you a chicken dinner that you'll be on that Co-Pilot list a lot longer than any of the others."

"One: I'm not on the list. Two: You can't afford a chicken dinner." Mako insisted. "And Three: For the record, I just told him that I didn't think he was a good fit for the mission."

"Feeling spiteful, were we?" Chuck needled. "You gave him a list of all of his disqualifying faults, and realized they all applied to you?"

"Chuck."

They both turned to see Herc looking coldly at them from the elevator.

Chuck glared hard. "Why is it, every time I try to have a conversation with Mori, you step in to rescue her?"

"I don't." Herc said plainly. "I just happen to find you raggin' on her every single time I wonder where you are. Now, weren't we supposed to be having lunch?"

Chuck took the hint and stormed off.

Herc and Mako regarded each other silently for a moment. "You know the worst thing about Chuck's temper?" Herc said finally. "He's not always wrong."

Mako winced. "I know. He's right, in fact. All the reasons why Raleigh shouldn't be here? They all apply to me."

"And yet, here you both are." Herc commented.

Mako sent him a look. Herc was calculating something, considering something he wasn't saying aloud. "What?"

Herc waved it off. "Never mind. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

Mako took the hint and headed off. She always had somewhere to be.

* * *

Raleigh left the Mess Hall and checked the War Clock. He still had an hour before he was needed in the Dojo.

He went back to the Hangar. Gipsy was there, and he gazed at the Machine, feeling it gaze back.

Raleigh glanced around and decided he could sneak in. He went to the Conn-Pod. The interior had been repaired thoroughly, though he knew the exact outline of the damage Knifehead had inflicted.

He stepped up to the harness, the exact spot where he and Yancy had been. All at once it seemed like the years in between were a vague dream.

"I'm back." He whispered. "I'm sorry I was away so long."

Gipsy welcomed him back.

Raleigh jumped down and tripped. There was a sleeping bag rolled up and tucked away at the pilot's station. Raleigh blinked in surprise.

"It's hers."

Raleigh looked up to see Tendo in the entrance. "Hers? You mean Mako?"

Tendo nodded. "I knew more about Class Three Jaegers than anyone, including the designers. Mako... I was holding her back after less than a month."

"Fifty One Sim Drops, Fifty One Kills? She's something else, that one." Raleigh wandered around the pod and winced. "The Ghosts are still in the Machine."

Tendo nodded.

Raleigh smirked. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

"No. Five years ago, I did... But since then? Everyone who's ever Drifted can feel your fingerprints in the walls of Gipsy. Some of our repair crews refused to come back while we were rebuilding her."

Raleigh shivered. "I've never known how much of me and Yancy stayed behind whenever we unplugged; but I don't know a single Ranger that doesn't have a story like that."

Tendo stepped forward. "Is that why you stayed away?"

Raleigh nodded. "Don't tell The Old Man that I was scared of ghosts?"

"Not ghosts. Your brother."

Raleigh ran his fingertips over the interface, where his brother stood. "He's still here, Tendo. Years later, it hasn't faded."

Tendo leaned in and lowered his voice. "Don't tell anyone this, but Mako hears him too."

Raleigh looked up sharply. "What?"

Tendo nodded. "She was smart enough not to make it official, but... There's a reason she spends so much time in here." He gestured at the sleeping bag, rolled up and tucked out of the way. "She didn't just rebuild Gipsy, Raleigh . She raised it from the dead, and she did it when everyone in the PPDC was telling her not to waste the time and money."

Raleigh looked up. "Tendo... Why isn't she on the list?"

"The Marshal." Tendo said carefully.

Raleigh shook his head in light disgust. "Am I going to meet  _anyone_  that'll give me a straight answer about Mako Mori?"

Tendo winced. "Alright, you didn't get this from me, because it's not entirely my business, but... She was the best the Academy had ever seen. She was Pentecost's Protege, in fact. Then she screwed up. It was an off-duty screwup in the final month before graduation; but it got another Cadet killed. It was a tragic accident, but it demoted her from Ranger to Wrench-Turner in a hell of a hurry."

Raleigh chewed his lip, glancing over to where his brother used to be. "Well. I could say the same about my last Drop."

Tendo was smart enough not to answer that.

"Can I see her file?"

"No. Personnel files were made strictly Eyes-Only after a little incident we had with the Cult a while back." Tendo shook his head. "But I can get you her simulator records. Fifty One to Zero; it's some seriously good television."

Raleigh nodded, and Tendo moved off. "By the way, in case I haven't said it enough; it's good to have you back."

Raleigh smiled a little and looked up at Gipsy again. "It's good to be back." He said quietly. He waited until he was sure Tendo was out of earshot, and asked Gipsy the question. "So. What do you think?"

* * *

The Dojo was a place where conversations happened, in a very unique language.

Raleigh Becket had an audience. Mako had come up with seven names. Raleigh had spared with them all. None of them had scored more than twice against him.

Raleigh was excellent. But he could be better. Mako saw at once that he was holding back.  _He's hiding. But why? What's he hiding?_

Raleigh slammed Contestant Number Five into the ground hard, and Mako scowled. "Four-One."

"Okay, what?" He demanded. "You don't like them? I thought you selected them personally." "Excuse me?"

"Every time a match ends, you make this little...gesture. Like you're critical of their performance."

He'd raised the issue, so she pounced. "It's not their performance, it's yours. You jam it. You could have taken all of them two moves earlier."

"You think so?"

"I know so." Mako nodded.

Raleigh sent a look to the others around the mat. None of them had said anything, and Mako suddenly realized what he was holding back for. He was... searching for something. His stance was... longing.

When she and Stacker had last dueled, he had absorbed her every strike. It was the combat equivalent of the silent treatment. Mako had been all offense, even to the point of risking her defense. It was the combat equivalent of screaming.

Raleigh was asking the question. He wanted someone to answer him. Within two moves he had an answer.

"Can we change this up?" Raleigh asked Stacker, pointing his staff at Mako. "How about we give  _her_  a shot?"

Mako spun around to face Stacker before she could stop herself, with a clear look of  _'Please, Daddy; can I?'_  on her face.

"No." Stacker shut them both down. "Stick to the cadet list we have, Ranger. Only candidates with drift compatibility..."

"Which I have!" Mako hissed, as though he'd forgotten.

"What's the matter, Marshal? Don't think your brightest can cut it in the ring with me?" Raleigh called the father-daughter team out in front of everyone. The audience almost let out a cat-call in response.

It was a cheap taunt. He knew it was a cheap taunt. The Marshal knew it was a cheap taunt. Everyone watching knew it was a cheap taunt.

Mako was still plastered against her Sensei, staring up at him like a hopeful puppy.

Stacker sighed and took the clipboard off her. "Go." He told her, and his meaning was clear.  _Kick his ass._

* * *

She had goaded him. Taunted him. Even vaguely insulted him. He had not risen to the bait. He was patient. He was waiting for her to show her colors and reveal what she was actually capable of when the chips were down.

They fought the same way. She let him get the first blow through unchallenged; purely to check his stance, his speed, his restraint. It was a mark of supreme confidence. She gave away a free point because she had absolute certainty that she could beat him by two points or more.

It was exactly what he did an instant later.

She recognized his style instantly. He was treating the bo staff as a sword, more than anything else. A sword to attack, a staff to defend. It was the same style she had chosen. It was an unusual style because it opened you up during your offensive moves. Anyone who used this method had to be perfectly balanced between strike and withdraw.

So she struck out, and he blocked her before she realized he was moving.

She had seen him fight five different opponents, each of them with their own style; but she suddenly realized she knew nothing. He'd been playing with the others. He'd never shown off his actual tactics and skill.

Mako realized swiftly that he'd held back deliberately, until he could get  _her_  sent into the ring.

Mako struck faster, feeling her heart speed up when it hit her: Raleigh wanted her as a partner. His whole sparring tournament was a prelude to their own match.

She blocked him. She hadn't seen the strike, hadn't seen him shift his feet. She'd just blocked him automatically. She'd known it was coming somehow. Maybe because it was exactly how she would have moved in his place.

The sudden certainty took her breath away, enough that she found herself caught out, losing another point. She almost didn't care. She was in his head, or he was in hers...

And Mako suddenly realized that she was enjoying herself. She'd never...  _enjoyed_  combat sparring like this.

Normally, she threw everything into her sparring matches, teeth bared, eyes blazing... But now she had a playful smirk on her face, daring him to try harder. In fact, she was six inches away from bursting into laughter.

And when she saw his eyes light up for the first time since he'd stepped off the helicopter, she realized he felt the same way. He was enjoying this.

_How many times has he_ _enjoyed_ _something since his brother died?_

She won, of course. Only the Sensei had ever defeated her in the dojo. But it wasn't his skill, it was his stance. He fought like her with the staff. But his throws and judo holds weren't anything like her. They were like the Sensei. He had made the same move once, the last time they sparred, tossing her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing.

Mako had lost two points. She hadn't lost two points to anyone except Pentecost since she was twelve years old.

She pinned him with a fairy vicious joint lock around his leg, and the whole room burst into applause. She wondered how many of them saw it. How many of them saw the conversation.

He'd been hiding something from the other contenders. Something he was showing her.

"Enough." Stacker declared, barely raising his voice over the applause. "I've seen what I need to see."

"Me too." Raleigh said with certainty, as Mako rose to her feet and bowed to Stacker. He clapped a hand on her shoulder gently. "She's my co-pilot."

Mako looked over at him in jaded awe. She'd half-expected it since she put his name on the list. But to hear someone say it out loud... After almost fifteen years in the Dome, Raleigh Becket was the first one that actually  _wanted_ her as a partner.

"That's not going to work." Stacker said simply, as Mako knew he would. She'd expected the dismissal so much she barely felt the barbs.

"Why not?" Stacker demanded.

"Because I said so, Mr. Becket." Stacker said with absolute calm. "I've made my decision. Report to the Shatterdome in two hours and find out who your co-pilot will be."

Mako deflated, not surprised. Stacker was only calm and polite when he was either in the wrong, or backed against a wall. In the many years she'd known him, he'd never, not once, used 'because I say so' as a reason for  _anything_. In front of everyone, in front of Chuck Hansen, in front of the entire Dome, he just... refused.

If Mako wasn't such a strong person, she would have burst into tears.

* * *

Mako's eyes were blurry when she left the Dojo. It wasn't that the refusal was a surprise, it was that Raleigh seemed as certain as she was. Her whole dream come true was just... there. It was right there. Everyone in the Dome could see it. The applause when she and Raleigh had sparred was too loud to be polite. They all saw it. And her Sensei had just slapped her down in front of everybody, and he didn't even offer a face-saving excuse.

Raleigh Becket came running after her. "Mako, what was all that about? I mean, I'm not crazy. You felt it, right? We  _are_  Drift compatible."

Mako winced. "Thank you for standing up for me, but there's nothing to talk about." She was scared. Partly that he'd pity her, partly that he'd see her start to cry. She made her way back to her room without seeing the hallway and struggle to open her door.

"That's my room." He told her.

Mako looked past her nose for the first time since the dojo and scowled in embarrassment, quickly crossing the hall.  _Wouldn't Chuck have fun with_ _that_ _little gaffe?_

Raleigh didn't let up. "I mean, come on. I thought you wanted to be a pilot. Mako, this is worth fighting for. We don't have to just obey him."

He was offering her the ultimate prize. More than  _oxygen_  she wanted what he was offering. But defying the Sensei was blasphemy on so many levels. Levels that Raleigh didn't know about. "It's not obedience, Mr. Becket. It's respect." She finally managed to get her door open.

"Will you at least tell me what his problem is?" Raleigh called as the door shut.

* * *

Half an hour passed and Mako's emotions had cooled. It had taken a lot of years, and the death of her only friend, but Mako had finally gotten her wrath under control.

Anger had cooled quickly enough. Embarrassment had cooled soon after.

The emotions that Raleigh Becket's arrival had brought lasted a good bit longer.

Tasmin had said that anyone worth having would fight for her, even against Stacker Pentecost. When Raleigh took off after The Marshal, Mako felt her stomach do another flip; because that was exactly what he was about to do.

She saw him about ten minutes later. By the look on his face, his private plea to the Marshal hadn't gone as he planned.

She peeked at him whenever she got a chance. She'd never studied a human so completely before. He was just so... tempting. Not just as a man, but as a partner.

And that was when it struck her. Raleigh was the  _only_  one she'd wanted as a Drift Partner. Even as a little girl, when she'd assumed Stacker would be her co-pilot one day, she never really expected...

She had done a Deathbed Drift, so she was missing parts of herself already. She was young; so her pattern was erratic. She was the Marshal's special favorite, so she was marginally untouchable. She had lost her whole family in the most soul crushing way, so she was unreliably damaged.

And she was the best that had ever been; so where could she find someone who could keep up enough to be her equal?

But when Raleigh stepped off the chopper, she knew it in her bones. He was all these things too. He fought the way Pentecost had trained her to fight. He had piloted a Jaeger solo, the only one other than her adopted father to do so.

Raleigh was mostly like her, but also slightly Pentecost... Which is exactly why they worked so well together.

_Listen to me._  She told herself.  _It's like I've known him longer than a few hours._

She had paced her room for a while. She heard whispering outside her door and peeked through the keyhole. Raleigh was there, trying to decide whether or not to knock. She saw him look across the hall at her door and she backed away from the peephole, willing him to do it.  _Come see me. Come talk to me. Do it, I know you want to._

Knock Knock.

Mako would have turned cartwheels if she was the type to do so. She knew he was her partner. He knew it too. It felt like the whole universe had deigned matters to make him and her so perfectly matched.

She checked her hair and clothes for the first time in her life. She wanted to impress him. She wanted him to know what she knew.

She opened the door with a smile, and... Stacker Pentecost bowed respectfully. He hadn't returned her bow at the dojo, because he was busy rejecting her in front of Raleigh Becket and the entire list of potential candidates.

From the almost formal look on her face, she knew he was thinking the same thing. "May I come in?"

Mako stepped aside automatically, and her Sensei entered. A moment after the door closed, he held out something that made Mako's heart stop, then start again at triple speed.

A single red shoe, small enough for a ten year old girl. It was her shoe. The most expensive thing she had left in the world when Onibaba wiped it all out was a single shoe.

"A long time ago, I made you a promise." Stacker said quietly. "Get ready."

Mako's hands were shaking.

"Breathe." He told her, swiftly leading her over to the bed. She collapsed against it.

"I..." Mako gasped for air. "I don't know why I'm reacting like this."

"There's something about getting your lifelong dream that makes a girl suddenly wait for the other shoe to drop." Stacker conceded. "If you'll pardon the choice of words."

"Promise me that it's not the obvious." Mako said quietly, clinging to the shoe tightly. "Every potential pilot left on the planet was crammed into the Dojo. They all heard Raleigh pick me, and then they all heard you shoot me down, 'just because'."

Stacker winced slightly. "I feel bad about that. I handled that badly, I know. I apologize."

"Anyone else that you approve from that moment on? They all know that they were the second choice, and the one that their co-pilot  _didn't_ want. Are you saying yes now because I'm your only option?"

Stacker sighed. "Raleigh Becket's opinion counts for a lot in the selection of a Co-Pilot."

"So does yours." She said harshly.  _And you already decided I wasn't up to it._

Stacker froze. She could have said it, but she didn't. She didn't have to. He looked at her carefully. "Are you saying no?"

Mako looked down. "I really don't know why I'm acting this way. I was pushing for this exact goal for nine years."

"And trying to let it go for four years after that." Stacker acknowledged. "Mako, we're not picking a new Ranger to graduate from the Academy. We're not picking a new team to take over a refurbished Jaeger. We're picking a replacement for Yancy Becket, to fly a  _specific_  Jaeger for a single mission. What I said to the Committee doesn't apply any more, and 'The Suits' no longer have any say."

Mako took a deep, shuddering breath.

"It's just you, me and Raleigh Becket. He wants you... and I think... I think he would accept nobody else." He smiled, just a little. "Perhaps Gipsy Danger would accept nobody else."

Long silence.

"My god." Mako whispered in Japanese. "It's really happening, isn't it?"

Stacker rose and headed for the door. Mako rose also. There was little else that needed to be said.

Stacker paused as the door opened. "Carry on... Ranger."

Mako smiled, tears in her eyes. "Yes Sir!"

He shut the door and Mako nearly fell to her knees, blubbering. Tears rolled down her cheeks, over her smile. "I did it." She wept joyfully to herself in whispers. "I made it. I made it!"

She was going to Co-Pilot Gipsy Danger. She would be part of the Machine. She was going on the Mission. All the way to the Breach.

_You'll go all the way to their Gates and knock. And they'll let you in._  Harker's voice reached from beyond the grave to whisper in her ear.  _Because they want you._

Mako felt a sudden shiver hit her hard. But she pushed that thought away. After all, she had to prepare for her first real Drift. Gipsy Danger was waiting.


	9. I Have Always Been You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is now overlapping with the movie. It will Novelise a few scenes, and provide a few missing scenes.

Mako didn't need to have her combat suit fitted. She'd had a custom tailored suit for years. But when she put it on this time, she felt different. She felt... exalted. Like the universe had aligned at last.

_I would have worn this suit and climbed into any Jaeger._  She thought to herself.  _But none of them would be Gipsy Danger. And none of the other recruits would have been Raleigh._

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking at herself in the mirror. Nobody had ever seen her in a combat suit. She'd never shown anyone.  _I wonder what he'll say._

* * *

She saw him before he saw her in the Conn-Pod. Everyone had been expecting him to take the Left Station, like he had back in his last rotation, but Mako knew he wouldn't. He couldn't take his old post without his brother there on the right.

"You mind if I take this side? My left's a little messed up." He said as she came in, not even looking at her.

"Sure." Mako grinned.

He spun at the sound of her voice, and she was thrilled to notice he was smiling. There had only been three moments that he'd smiled since Stacker had found him in Alaska, probably since a lot longer than that. Seeing Gipsy, the Dojo match, and finding out she was his co-pilot after all.

Mako stepped up to the Left Station in the Con-Pod and told herself she wasn't posing for him. "Are you going to say anything?"

"There's no point. In about five minutes, you'll be in my head." Raleigh told her blandly.

Mako smiled a bit, but it went hollow on her face. She had almost forgotten the last time she'd done this.

He saw her reaction and gave her an earnest look, making it up to her. "You look good."

She appreciated the compliment, but her tension hadn't come from the brush off. Stacker told her that she hadn't been Drifting with Jess. Eight percent was barely a connection. What she was attempting with Raleigh would go much deeper.

"Listen, if you want me as your partner, I should warn you..." Mako swallowed. "If you want to be in my head, I should warn you what you'll find."

"Onibaba."

"You knew?"

"I looked you up when I told Stacker I'd picked my co-pilot, Tokyo Girl." Raleigh nodded. "Just remember, if you're worried that I'll find a Kaiju waiting for me... so will you."

_Knifehead. The day he lost_ _his_ _family._  Mako realized.  _Of course; he's had a close encounter too!_

_Just like me._

She thought about it a moment, and shook her head slightly.  _No. It can't be worse than Onibaba. If I can handle that, I can handle anything._

They were suited up, and at their posts. Mako took a deep, shuddering breath. Raleigh was cool as a glacier, and she was glad for it. If he had been as nervous as she was, she didn't know how she'd handle it.

"Three. Two. One." Gipsy's AI gave the countdown.

The slide into the Drift was so smooth that for a moment, Mako didn't realize it was happening, and then the four walls started... moving out from her, like she was shrinking. Except she wasn't shrinking, she was growing.

_No, not growing._  Someone said, and Mako wasn't sure if it was Stacker, or Tasmin, or Jess, or Raleigh or all of them put together.  _Not growing. Evolving._

Mako felt something inside her suddenly relax. Like a tightly coiled spring had been eased. Her obsession with the Kaiju had been replaced with something else. Gipsy Danger had filled her with a need. She was Drifting now. She was Gipsy Danger, every bit as much as she was Mako Mori.

She had put the Steel Samurai back together, piece by piece. She had brought every alloy, every spare part and offered it to her Spirit Guide, and Gipsy had accepted them all. And now Mako was offering up herself to the Machine.

And the Steel Samurai found it to be good.

Mako wanted to cry it was so perfect. She was Gipsy Danger. And she was the girl that had put Gipsy back together. And she was the one that brought Raleigh home. She was the Sword. She was the Swordmaker.

Gipsy welcomed Mako as she had the last two people that had been part of her soul, and Mako embraced it, feeling more accepted, and more connected and more...  _whole_  than she had ever felt.

And she was not alone.

The emotions were flowing through her as if for the first time. The memories were rolling past her mind. She had studied this, of course. The Pons was learning her neural pathways, figuring out what to share to Raleigh. Even as the memories rolled past, she could feel more of them coming to join the parade of her life. Raleigh was here now too. She was getting him everywhere. He  _was_ everywhere. Everywhere she looked, everywhere she thought of, everywhere she knew.

But she didn't feel like she was drowning. She felt... Expanded. Increased. Like she was a hundred percent more herself than she had ever been. She was everywhere too.

Tasmin's last words suddenly floated up to her mind.  _You'll always find me in the Drift._

_What will happen to Sensei when she dies?_  She heard her own thought come to her suddenly, as if having it for the first time.

But amazingly, Raleigh answered.

_What happens when you lose a partner?_  Raleigh thought, and she heard him.

Raleigh was here too. She could feel him. She wasn't hearing him think, exactly, more like he was stretching out... She could feel the shape of him reaching, and realized suddenly that she was too. The shape of her was like a smooth, multiplying tapestry of threads, reaching and entwining into his equally intricate tapestry of threads.

A half-forgotten memory of the neural mapping software floated up somehow, and Mako swiftly understood. The reaching was her neurons being redrawn. Her neurons were reaching out like a billion fingertips, brushing into every inch of her mind, and his, and Gipsy, as they all wove together into one brain, one mind.

She felt his presence intertwine with her own and relaxed into it happily. His presence was too much like her own to be awkward or difficult.

And then she felt the part of the weave that came from Raleigh shift, as though the great interwoven tapestry they were weaving suddenly drew an image. A single word that was gone a moment later.

_Yancy._

* * *

Tendo felt his heart speed up as his console beeped. "Becket's out of alignment!"

* * *

Raleigh knew he should stick closer to Mako, but it was like slipping into a warm bath after seven years in the cold. He wasn't relaxing his body, he was relaxing his whole soul into a familiar, comfortable place.

And Yancy was everywhere. Raleigh was part of every inch of the Machine, every bolt, every weld. Its hull was his skin, its gears were his muscles... His mind reached out to welcome the new parts, everything that had replaced what was torn away.

Gipsy was glad to have him back, and part of him wondered if the Jaeger had been as broken and incomplete as he had been.  _Mako..._ He thought joyfully.  _You put us back together again._

"Not all of us." Yancy commented.

Raleigh turned and found Yancy beside him. "This is a memory." Raleigh told himself firmly, not chasing rabbits. "I... when I stepped into Gipsy, I took the right hand side, because my left was no good after you..." He squeezed his eyes shut a moment. "This is a memory."

Yancy looked up suddenly, staring deep into Raleigh's eyes. "She needs you." He said suddenly. "Your new partner needs you!"

Raleigh responded instantly, turning away from him, searching for her. "Mako?"

And suddenly Knifehead roared, ripping into their sides. Yancy screamed.

Raleigh screamed. Mako screamed.

* * *

"Shut them down!" Herc Hansen roared.

"I can't!" Tendo shouted in worry. "They're Drifting too close! Pulling the plug would put them into Neural Shock!"

"WHAT?!" Herc blurted in awe. He knew it was theoretically possible, but he'd never seen it before. "How can they still be Drifting so tight when they're  _both_  so far off-pattern?"

"I don't know!"

* * *

There were... concepts, coming at Mako swiftly. Concepts that had defined his life. And hers.

**Family. Lost. Alone. Scared. Kaiju. Attacking. Family. Dead. Alone. Alone. ALONE.**

"I've been here before." Mako whispered.

She could feel Yancy getting torn away from her, she could hear him scream. She could feel the wind and rain slam into her face.

It was cold. And the Kaiju was close, eager to kill.

"I've been here before." Mako whispered again.

* * *

It was cold. And the Kaiju was close, eager to kill.

Mako sobbed, screaming hysterically as she curled in tightly as she could behind the dumpster. The claws were bigger than houses, and they were trying to get her.

She could hear the jaws working, chewing their way through whatever it had eaten last.

The human was a tiny, pitiful nothing against the storm that ripped the universe apart.

* * *

"I've been here before." Raleigh whispered.

The human was a tiny, pitiful nothing against the storm that ripped the universe apart.

Gipsy fell as Raleigh suddenly had the whole thing slam into him. The Conn-Pod filled with seawater, even as flame and shrapnel licked at his body.

"Get up!" Raleigh raged at himself. "Just get up before you drown!"

_Drown?_

But the weight was too much. The burden of an entire Jaeger was entirely too heavy for one heart to carry alone; and Raleigh was less than he was, torn and shredded. Raleigh reached out one hand helplessly, trying to find the surface, trying to push back the inevitable.

* * *

Mako reached out one hand helplessly, trying to keep back the immense claws, trying to push back the inevitable.

**Plasma Cannon:**   _Online_.

_"MAKO!"_  A voice came from a million miles away. _"It's Herc! Stand! Down!"_

She aimed square at Onibaba. She had to escape. She had to survive. She reached out her hand further, trying to reach...

* * *

Raleigh felt the water fill his throat. He had to escape. He had to survive. He reached out his hand further, trying to reach...

Yancy grabbed his hand suddenly. Raleigh gasped, as his brother was suddenly there. "Yancy?"

"Yancy is dead!" His brother told him firmly. "Your partner needs you!"

Raleigh could feel the water rushing into him, but it suddenly felt like he'd woken up from a dream. "Yancy is dead." He repeated. "So..."

His brother was still holding his outstretched hand like a lifeline. "She needs you!"

Raleigh blinked, suddenly realizing what he was seeing. "Gipsy?"

* * *

_Kill Onibaba. Not Onibaba. Locent. Not Locent. Onibaba. Kill Onibaba. Not Onibaba. Locent. Not Locent. Onibaba. Kill Onibaba. Not Onibaba. Locent. Not Locent. Onibaba._

Mako was fighting tooth and claw to keep herself from firing. If the damn target would just hold still for a second and stop changing back and forth from what she saw to what she felt... If she could just stay a little girl for another few seconds she could Kill Onibaba and save her family and save Tasmin and save Stacker and kill Onibaba and save everyone and kill Kaiju and she could just...

Raleigh was suddenly right there. "Mako! This isn't real. It's a memory!"

She could see people running for their lives in the Control Room, just as clearly as she could see Onibaba's gnashing teeth. But they were both in front of her and she had to kill Onibaba.

She could see Stacker run into the Control Room.

"Mako! Listen to me!" Raleigh said firmly, and she suddenly realized he could see it too. "You need to step out of the memory!"

She could see Stacker. She could hear Raleigh. But Onibaba was right there! It was right there, and she was a terrified ten year old with a Plasma Cannon.

She could see Stacker open the hatch on Coyote Tango. She could see Stacker staring at her from the Locent Control Room. She could see him staring down at her from Onibaba's corpse...

"This is a memory." She told herself firmly.

"Mama! Mama!" She sobbed at the same time, debris and destruction everywhere.

Her hand was still outstretched, and she was using all her strength to fire, and all Raleigh's strength to  _not_  fire.

She could see Stacker and Tendo, both fighting to pull the plug on her.

But it was too late. She was a tiny little nothing, trying to hold back all the panic of a little child, and all the power of a Kaiju. She was going to fire and kill Stacker and kill Tendo and kill everyone and  _maybe Harker was right, maybe I am one of them..._

Onibaba roared.

...When something reached out and caught her outstretched hand. Mako blinked. "Raleigh?"

Raleigh Becket looked back at her. "Do it for Pentecost. Pentecost needs you to hold it back."

"I... I can't. I can't hold it back any more." She sobbed in surrender.

Raleigh didn't let go of her hand, holding tighter. "Then do it for Gipsy! Gipsy Danger needs you hold back, just a little while longer."

"Gipsy?" Mako asked weakly. "Gipsy still needs me?"

Onibaba roared.

* * *

The power ran out quite suddenly. What charge was left in the Machine ran out at last, and Mako felt the rug pulled out from under her. Her brain was reeling, out of control, still seeing six of Onibaba, of Raleigh, of Knifehead, of Yancy, of her father, of Jess, of everything.

After a million years, she came back to herself and found she was sprawled across the floor of the Conn-Pod, eyes wide and panicked, one arm still outstretched as if to fire.

Raleigh was behind her, also sprawled across the floor. He was holding her down, and holding her close, whispering soft words of safety and protection in her ear, promising it was going to be okay. Her eyes were wide and still seeing scary monsters everywhere, as her gaze swept over everything.

Gipsy's oddly-melodious mechanical voice spoke distantly. "Would you like to try again?" It asked with vaguely innocent menace.

They stayed that way for over an hour, until the recovery and medical teams could figure out how to climb the Jaeger enough to get inside without having the gantries connected. Raleigh never let go of her, not even to let them in.

The teams came to collect her, and he shoved them all away. He wouldn't let anyone touch her. Mako was glad for it. She clung to Raleigh's arm around her torso, digging her fingers tightly into his combat suit.

_I don't do this._  She thought chaotically.  _Look at me, needing help. I don't do that._

_I know._  Raleigh's voice answered. But she hadn't spoken, had she? Come to think of it, he hadn't said anything either, had he?

_I failed._

_There's no 'I' about it. Not any more_. He said soothingly.  _I'm here._

"Sir, you need to step away and let us take her." One of the Med-Techs was telling him, trying to pry his arms free of her.

Raleigh stood and shoved them away immediately. He put himself right between them and her.

"Stand Down!" A voice cut through them all. Stacker Pentecost came in and pushed his way through to Mako. "Apprentice?" He said in Japanese.

Mako blinked for the first time since stepping into Gipsy Danger. "Sensei?" Her voice was wavering. Stacker stood before her and held out a hand to her, ready to help her up.

"It's okay, I'm still here." To her left, Raleigh turned away from the Medics and held out a hand as well, also ready to help her stand.

Mako's eyes swept back and forth between them as if it was a decision, but it wasn't. She didn't have to think about it. She took Raleigh's hand immediately and rose, as though back in the Dojo again.

Pentecost hadn't moved to follow them, he was still holding out a hand to her spot on the floor, as Gipsy Danger's pilots headed for the exit, and everyone parted for them immediately, afraid to get too close.

* * *

The Medics treated them separately. Mako didn't care. She knew where he was. It was like she had a new radar hardwired into her brain. He was never more than ten feet away.

Memories were still rolling over her. Things she had actually forgotten about. Raking the Zen gardens with her mother, her earliest lessons with the hanbo staff, Yancy arguing with her over baseball cards...

She shook her head slightly. That last one had come from him.

She did what she should have done in the Jaeger. She let the memories keep rolling by until they faded into the present; and didn't let herself focus too clearly on any of them.

She didn't let herself focus too closely on anything, because she knew that when she did she would break. She had her moment, and she'd blown it completely. If she let herself realize that, it would break her.

She deliberately forbade herself to think about it until she received The Summons.

* * *

Raleigh was standing outside the Marshal's office, pacing like a tiger in a cage. His aloof detachment had vanished. He was now filled with a deep, simmering kind of energy; like he was about to lunge at something.

Their eyes met and she could tell instantly. He got that from her.

She wondered why he hadn't gone in as she came to join him, but from fifteen feet up the hall, even through the thick steel door, she could hear Chuck Hansen roaring at both his father, and hers.

Mako came over to stand with her co-pilot, and tried to sink into the concrete wall behind her. "This is going to be awful." She said to him in Japanese.

Raleigh didn't respond, still pacing.

At that moment, the door opened, and Chuck was shoved into the hall by Herc. "Stay right there!" Herc told his son tightly, and went back in. Mako wondered if her almost-Uncle was pleading her side.

Herc might have been thrown out of the meeting, but he wasn't any calmer, and seeing the Gipsy Team only inspired him. "You two are a bloody disgrace!"

Mako had Raleigh's memories of meeting Chuck in the Mess Hall. In the six hours since, Raleigh had been given a solid dose Mako's fury, and her own experience with the man, including his combat technique. Mako had spent years telling herself that she deserved all the anger that Chuck threw at her, because she knew she'd been the cause of much of it. But in the six hours since they'd been put in the same Dome again, she had all of Raleigh's detachment, and all of his fierce need to protect his Team.

Raleigh knew he should ignore it. Six hours ago he wouldn't care. Six hours ago, Mako would have rolled with it too. But they were Co-Pilots now, and if neither of them felt any particular need to fight back on their own behalf, they were both more than willing to fight for each other.

Mako heard Raleigh's stray thought drift up into her mind, clear as if he'd spoken.  _The only question, is who's going to get first dibs._

The younger Ranger Hansen, in the meantime, was wrapping up his tirade, focusing more on Raleigh for once. "So why don't you just do us all a favor and disappear? It's what you're best at."

_Chuck has no idea what he's doing._  Mako realized, as Chuck flicked Raleigh's chest hard. She stepped forward. "Stop it. Now!" She told Chuck harshly. She wasn't warning him for Raleigh's sake. She was trying to spare Chuck what was certain to come next.

She felt Raleigh's hand on her shoulder instantly, reeling her back; before he squared up to Chuck. A five year old would have seen what came next. "Apologize to the lady." Raleigh said, and his voice was so cold and polite that Mako shivered.

Chuck had a chance to back it down. Instead he went the other way.  _I wonder..._ Mako thought.  _Did Jess take_ ** _all_** _his common sense with her when she died?_

Chuck snorted and gestured to Mako. "That's right, hold your girlfriend back. At least one of you bitches needs a leash."

_And we have a winner._

The punch came so fast that Mako wouldn't have been able to block it in the dojo if she tried. Chuck's head snapped back, then bounced forward again before his body had the chance to fall down.

Raleigh followed it with a left hook that got the attention of everyone near the hallway. The legendary blood feud of was finally being promoted from hostile to violent, and everyone that knew came running, not to break them up, but to watch.

Chuck wasted no time hitting back, all elbows and knee shots, the way his father fought in the ring. Raleigh let him block the next two blows, and promptly put Chuck down on one knee, finishing with a right cross that was so hard, Mako felt her knuckles tingle, as though she'd thrown the punch herself.

"I said..." Raleigh was still cool and polite. "Apologize to her."

"Screw you." Chuck got back up and started hitting back. His haymaker was famous in the Australian Boxing tournaments, but Raleigh knew it was coming. He'd never seen Chuck fight... but Mako had. The two of them slammed each other against the walls for a minute, and Chuck briefly got the upper hand, sending kidney punches low under Raleigh's guard.

Mako's fists were clenched, and she wondered if she should stop it, or at least get into it. But as Raleigh fought, she suddenly realized she  _was_  into it, in all the ways that mattered.

Raleigh broke the clinch by shoving Chuck back against the opposite wall, hard enough to break a steam pipe open.

Chuck shook it off. He had a cut open along a cheekbone, but the damage was cosmetic. Mako had studied the Hansen's style too. Chuck could take a lot of damage before he started wearing out. In fact, if the fight lasted too long, she wondered if Raleigh would win, no matter how many hits he landed.

But when Chuck came up from under a cloud of steam, his face had turned from angry to very lethal, and Mako froze. Chuck wasn't going to hit back this time, he was going to outright murder someone. If he'd had a gun, he would have used it on the spot.

Raleigh saw it too, knowing his opponent as well as Mako did. Chuck wasn't holding anything back this time.

"CUT IT OUT!" A rough voice roared, and even Chuck settled. Herc dragged his son away from Raleigh, fed up.

Mako looked to Pentecost, expecting the same reaction. But the Sensei didn't look angry. He looked... smaller. He looked disappointed, and Mako felt sick. This was going to be so much worse than she thought.

* * *

Nobody said anything for a long time.

"The reason we were unable to pull the plug on Gipsy sooner was because you were both Drifting so closely, even after you went out of Phase."

They both stared at him.

Pentecost looked exhausted. "Now, obviously, that has never happened before. Whenever one pilot breaks pattern, the whole Drift collapses. But not this time. Would anyone like to tell me why?"

Mako and Raleigh both kept their mouths shut, but both of them knew the answer. They were Drifting so closely, even as they fell into their worst memories, because their worst memories were so similar.

But Mako was unsurprised to find that Pentecost already made the connection himself. "Could it be, that your compatibility extended as far as your worst nightmares, even to the point of your own destruction?"

"I went out of phase first!" Raleigh said immediately. "It was my mistake."

Pentecost wasn't even looking at them. "No. It was  **my** mistake. I knew both your stories. I never should have put you both in the same machine."

Mako wanted to shout something, but she couldn't do it. Because he was right. Her incredible compatibility with Raleigh went as far as the reason she should never be a pilot. And now that they had Drifted, she knew in her bones that she couldn't do it again with someone else.  _Raleigh could_. She thought to herself.  _He's done it already, finding someone other than his brother._

"So... you're benching us?" Raleigh demanded.

"Not you." Stacker said simply, unable to look just the left and meet his daughter's eyes. It was like a slow motion execution. She wanted to argue with him, but she couldn't.

Mako had tried to become the strongest person alive for her Crusade, and now she had Raleigh's strength too... and it took every ounce of it to  _not_  burst into tears. "Permission to be dismissed?" She croaked.

Stacker looked sick, and ancient. Mako wasn't sure if it was because he was reaching he end of the lifespan his doctors had given him, or if he was just that sorry for her. "Permission Granted."

Mako bowed, and nearly ran from the room.

* * *

She didn't stop running until she made it back to her quarters, whereupon she curled into a ball on her bunk. She wanted to sob and scream and throw a tantrum, but she was just too... hollow.

Except she suddenly realized she wasn't. She was still heartbroken, but it was as though there was another heart beating in her chest, and it was strong and hard, and had handled plenty of broken moments.

Mako immediately got up and went to the door, pulling the heavy metal open. Raleigh was there, his hand raised, as if to knock. He didn't seem surprised that she knew he was coming. "I wanted to apologize."

Mako was floored. "Apologize?"

He nodded, ashamed. "It was the first time I plugged in since my brother died. I thought... I thought it would be just like last time only with someone else, but it wasn't. I forgot that I still have his neurons in my head, just as I now have yours. My mind reached out and suddenly Yancy was everywhere my neurons went, and..." He shuddered. "And suddenly it was Knifehead all over again."

She opened the door further. "Please come in."

He did so.

"I am sorry, for how it turned out." Mako said gently. "I didn't think-"

"No, not that." Raleigh shook his head. "I'm already the Dome's top screw-up. Nobody's ever taken another partner after theirs was Killed In Action. The Drift just goes too deep. People who are compatible can switch partners, but... not after a Deathbed Drift. It has never been done. Nobody expects anything of me, and the only one counting on anything was you. You want it more than love and money put together. You want it so much that  **I**  can taste it right now. I'm so sorry that I screwed up your best shot."

Mako was touched. He was actually concerned for her career. He'd just experienced the death of his brother, plus a dressing down, plus getting bounced out of the program, plus...

Mako sat on the edge of her bed. "It... wasn't my first Drift."

He smirked. "Yeah, back at the old Dome, we had a little clubhouse too."

"Not the UnderDrift." She shook her head. "Well, not the way you mean. It was at the club, and she was my best friend... She didn't survive the handshake. You can probably guess why." Mako sighed. "For a long time, I was afraid that... You know my most intense memory. You were there."

"Onibaba." Raleigh nodded.

"Jess couldn't handle it." Mako said quietly. "And for a long time, I worried that might be it for me. Maybe I was just too... toxic. Maybe being inside my brain is more dangerous than fighting Kaiju."

Raleigh actually laughed at that. She didn't.

"Mako..." He said patiently. "Onibaba was the scariest thing you'd ever been through. It was my job to help. That other girl didn't survive because she had nothing that measured up to that kind of... overload. But I do. Knifehead was to me what Onibaba was to you. If you survived mine, then I can survive yours. It was my job to make that bearable. But I was busy chasing rabbits with my brother, and that hit you with Knifehead on top of Onibaba. If you're toxic, so am I."

Mako didn't look sure.

"You had the whole thing at that moment. I was in a whole other place. You were driving that arm solo, and you were facing Onibaba and Knifehead, with total control over a plasma gun... and you still managed to hold back from shooting."

Mako nodded, conceding that. "Hardest thing I've ever done."

"Hard enough to control it when you're not scared out of your mind."

"Yeah, but you and I know better." Mako whispered. "There's something scarier than being all alone in a destroyed street, or a hurricane storm."

Raleigh nodded. "Being all alone in a crowded room."

They were finishing each others thoughts, covering each other's misplaced words...

And that's when it hit her. "It's not there."

"What's that?"

Mako froze. "I don't... I can't... I don't know, but it feels like something has come back. It feels like I should be missing something, but I'm not missing it any more."

"Like something was taken away, and now you're not missing any pieces any more." He put in, as though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

Mako nodded.

"I feel the same way. I've been missing something important since my brother died-"

"-and now that missing part has been put back." Mako nodded. "Yes. That's exactly what it is." She chewed her lip. "But I didn't lose my family Mid-Drift."

"No, you lost them  _young_." He returned. "Same effect. Something that everyone should have is missing from you and your life. People try to fill that with food, booze, drugs, violence, sex... Anything to make you stop thinking about it. You chose the war as your hiding place. I chose The Wall."

Mako gave him a lopsided smirk. "Not the healthiest options for either of us."

"And now it's not missing any more." He shrugged. "It's a good sign. I means we match up. Missing pieces fit."

"Which is fine, except we didn't do this for a therapy session." Mako told him. But she was smiling.

* * *

"Do you believe in fate, Herc?"

Marshal Hansen gave Stacker a look of surprise. "Not usually, though there are days it's hard to call it anything else."

Stacker nodded slowly. "Sometimes, I think of the overwhelming... Obsession that Mako's been chasing. But every time she'd actually gotten to something resembling a finish line, it's been a disaster. Sometimes I wonder if it's just because she's obsessed with a challenge that's too big for her, or if there's another reason."

Long silence.

"Okay, let's say there is another reason. What would it be?"

"Destiny." Stacker suggested. "I wonder sometimes, if the universe is conspiring to bring it all together at the last possible second."

"Wouldn't have pegged you for the type."

"I'm not. But we both know that the life expectancy of a Jaeger pilot gets shorter every time that damned alarm goes off. If Mako had graduated with Chuck, she'd probably be dead by now. They way it played out kept her off the front, and made sure there's nobody who would even want her as a co-pilot. Then the one man who will accept nobody else comes out of retirement at the Last Stand, just as Mako Mori has personally finished polishing the chrome on his own personal Jaeger."

Herc chuckled. "Add another layer: She's your daughter. After what happened in the UnderDrift, most every commander would have kicked her out of the base, but you kept her in. She earned it by still being the very best in the Dome, but that's because she grew up here. No other Cadet in Academy history can say that."

Pentecost sighed, looking at the floor. Just for a second, a brief second, it showed on his face. All the sorrow, all the exhaustion. "I wanted this so badly for her. I think I wanted it more than she did. Her guilt and her drive are at war with each other. Enough that she'll ask, but she won't push. Not after Jess. All that came from Becket."

Herc gave him a look. "Is that why you gave her the shot? Because it was the last chance she was ever going to get, and you wanted to believe that the universe had aligned in her favor because of it?"

"Nothing so ethereal." Stacker shook his head. "When I was in the Far East, still a rookie; I was in a jeep with four other soldiers. We were driving along a narrow mountain road, sheer drop on one side, cliff face on the other. Then we came around a turn, and found that someone had blocked the road."

"Ambush?" Herc asked, interested. He'd never heard this before.

"Yeah. The enemy started taking shots at us. Thank god they didn't have a sniper rifle, whoever they were. We couldn't move forward, couldn't turn around, and trying to reverse it would have sent us over the side."

"So what did you do?"

"All four of us jumped out of the jeep, picked it up with our bare hands, and turned it around 180 degrees. We dove back in, and ran for it. When we got back to base and reported it; the others dared us to do it again. We couldn't lift the damn thing an inch off the ground."

"Adrenaline." Herc nodded.

"Some people get thrown in at the deep end and freeze. Some get thrown in and they discover a capacity they never expected to find." Stacker shook his head. "God, Herc. I wanted so badly for Mako to come up swimming, I really did."

"Becket took the blame."

"I know. And it may yet be true. It may be his fault... but you add that to the UnderDrift, and my testimony... It's not hard to paint this picture."

"No, I guess not." Herc considered. "Can I ask you something? Why is Becket here?"

Stacker didn't answer, caught out.

Herc nodded, like he expected that. "Could it be because Mako had poured her whole soul into Gipsy Danger, and you hoped Gipsy's only surviving crew might recognize that when selecting a partner?"

Stacker lifted his gaze to Herc at last. "Tasmin told me once, that anyone worth taking on as a partner, or a lover, or a best friend? They had to be the ones that would fight for you. I didn't put Mako on the list. Becket insisted. I didn't put Mako on rotation. Becket insisted. I told him point blank that the answer was no, and he told me if Mako wasn't his copilot, he'd walk."

"Sonofabitch." Herc almost laughed. "He did exactly what you were hoping he'd do."

"I couldn't just give it to her." Pentecost sighed. "I couldn't make it easy for her. In fact, the only way to be sure was to go the other way."

"It worked." Herc offered. "Well... until it didn't."

"I can't give her another chance, Herc." Stacker sighed, surrendering. "We've got maybe ten hours before that damn Breach spits out another one. The Brains Trust are saying that its almost certain to be a double event, and that the invaders are working to a plan that we can't even guess at, but it starts with the end of all of us. We're not on the edge of Armageddon, we're there. I wanted to believe that when the chips were down, she'd pull it all together, but I can't take the risk on giving my daughter another chance, when she's already declared that she doesn't deserve one."

Herc sighed with him, putting a supporting hand on his shoulder. "I know. It's the right call."

"It is. I just don't know if she can handle it."

* * *

"We need to handle this." Raleigh said decisively.

She hadn't expected him to be so... open. Warrior men were supposed to be reserved. They didn't let people in.

Raleigh grinned, like he knew exactly what she was thinking, which he probably did. "Jaeger Jockeys aren't warriors. They're soul mates. Open is the only way you can be."

"That was my mistake." Mako agreed. "I've never been open. Not once." She shut her eyes for a moment. "You know what The Marshal will say. He'll say that I never got past Onibaba, and that deep down, I never stopped being a ten year old girl who wished she had a Plasma gun when she needed it." She winced. "And I suppose he'll be right."

There was a knock on the door. Mako looked awkwardly at Raleigh for a moment, before going to the door. Sitting on the deck outside was a coffee thermos.

"That's for me!" Raleigh called with a smile. "I asked Tendo to get something for me."

Mako scanned around her room and collected two coffee cups. The remains of many meals at her desk, hunched over her reports every night. She collected them, and Raleigh poured. Mako sniffed. "Not coffee."

"Hot chocolate." Raleigh told her. "The kind with real cream, and real chocolate. It's my mother's recipe. Yancy gave it to the kitchens, and every time we had a Drop, we had it waiting for us at Base. I figured it was a long shot, but it turns out Tendo Choi kept the recipe in the files."

Mako winced a little. "Yeah. I remember. Jess liked it." She glanced at him. "How much of Jess and Tess did you get? My memories, I mean?"

"Enough." He returned. "Enough to know that you've never tried it, even though you really wanted to."

"That's... actually, that's not true." Mako said quietly. "I drank hot cocoa at their place, but when Jess... died? I lost that memory. I remember drinking it, but I can't remember what it tasted like. The memory is just gone from my head."

He held out a cup to her, and her nose twitched at the smell. "Well, don't you think it's time you fixed that?"

Mako took the mug and sipped. It was hot and sweet and spicy enough to make her gasp.

Raleigh chuckled. "Mom put some hot chillies in the mix. Gives it a kick."

Mako sipped again. The taste was completely alien to her. But the feeling of it in her mouth was familiar, as though it was a personal favorite. "I... I've had this before."

Raleigh just smiled, and she suddenly understood. She had lost her own memory of the taste, but had gained his. "What did you feel?" Mako asked him quietly. "When we Drifted? What did you feel when you saw the memory?"

"Of Onibaba?" Raleigh sipped his drink. "I felt... guilt. It wasn't mine. Your whole emotional response to that day? It wasn't grief, it was... shame. Even in a Jaeger, the guilt is crushing you, Mako."

Mako shivered hard. "I was hoping it didn't go that deep."

Raleigh said nothing. He just waited.

Mako reached out and pulled a single red shoe from under her pillow. Raleigh recognized it of course. "You still have that?"

"No, I didn't. Pentecost kept it." Mako slugged back her drink, and he topped up her mug, using the last of the thermos. "I... I was a little girl, and we didn't have much money. On my birthday, my mother asked me what I wanted. The ration coupons, you see. They had saved up enough points to get me something out of the Housewares catalogs. You had to order anything in advance; because of all the threats to shipping. I picked a pair of new red shoes."

Raleigh could immediately tell where the story was going.

Mako could feel the spike of pure pain that went through him in sympathy, but she kept talking. "I never owned a  _new_  pair before. Tokyo took the hardest hit anywhere in Japan; so new... anything was hard to come by. I loved my shiny red shoes. I wore them everywhere and cleaned them carefully every night." She looked miserable. "Then one day while I was at school, the siren rang. The teachers hustled us all out, and someone trod on the back of my shoe, and I stepped out of it. I swore to my mom that I would take good care of them, since they were so expensive, so I ducked down and crawled back against the crowd, trying to find my lost shoe." She looked down wretchedly at her single scuffed shoe. "I did, but I was very suddenly aware that I was alone in the schoolyard, and I started running."

"To the School Shelter?"

"It was closed up tight. This was one of the MK-1 Series Shelters."

He snorted. "They hurt as many people as they hid."

"I know. And tiny hatches weren't included then, so they didn't even know I was outside. I heard the ground start to shake, and went running for home. There was another shelter in the basement of our apartment block, and they were the only two a child would know about." She sighed, clenching her fist around the mug. "I didn't make it."

Raleigh spoke for the first time. "When did you know they were outside?"

She couldn't look at him. "When the building fell on father." She looked up. "I was... I went to a payphone and called my family, and when they found out I was outside, they went a little crazy. They were in the subways; not a Kaiju Bunker. So my father was able to leave their hiding place and come running back for me. He didn't make it. I found out later that my mother tried to run down the subway tunnels to get to a station closer to the school, but during the fight, Onibaba hit the power station, and shorted out everything plugged into the grid, including the electric tracks my mother was running along. Stacker says the odds of it happening were a hundred to one. But if I hadn't been outside, they both would have stayed where they were."

"And your brother?"

Mako winced. "He was in the school Shelter, where I should have been. The MK-1 series didn't have internal backups, so when power went out, the backup power only lasted thirty minutes, and... The air filters didn't come back in time."

Raleigh nodded. "Stacker was piloting solo. It was a long chase."

She looked up at him. "Don't say it."

"Say what?"

"That it wasn't my fault." Mako spat. "Everyone who's heard the story for twenty years has been trying to tell me that it wasn't my fault my family died." Mako hissed, daring him to say it. "And I hate that."

Raleigh shook his head. "I won't humor you, Mako. There's no hiding anything from you; and no point in trying; given what we do for a living." He nodded. "It  _was_  your fault. But that doesn't mean you're to blame. And by the way, if you had stayed at the school, you would have suffocated with your brother."

"I know." Mako said, not looking at him.

"You were a child. Children are selfish. They think of themselves and what they want first, because they're too small and new to the world to care about things like civic duty. It doesn't make them evil, it just makes them too inexperienced to know better."

Mako sniffed. "I want to believe that."

"I forgive you." Raleigh said simply.

She looked up at him sharply. "What?"

"I forgive you." He said again.

She looked quietly furious. "Who the hell are you to forgive me for something that happened long before we met?"

Raleigh didn't even hesitate. "I'm the only one in the world who knows what it's like inside your head. I'm the only one in the world who knows how deep your emotions run; and what you've made the experience turn you into. I'm the one that is inviting you into my head, and the only one that knows the details from your perspective as well as someone else's. I'm intimately familiar with the power and evil and destruction that comes with a Kaiju. I'm the only one in the world that can weigh your sins against theirs." He toasted her. "So I'm the only one that can offer you forgiveness."

Mako took that in, and slid over a little closer to him. The Drift Hangover was stronger with proximity. The guilt, the rage... it was all still there, suffocating as ever. But now there was... compassion, forgiveness... And it was every bit as strong. Mako was surprised by it. She had never been terribly considerate of such things.

Patience, forgiveness, protection... It was coming from him.

And with his mind joined with hers... she felt it in herself. For the first time in her life, she was willing to let it go. Her soul had mercy for her own pain for the first time, and it was no less a part of her, just because it came from him.

It was so damn perfect she wanted to break down sobbing on his shoulder. But such was not her way. "I forgive you, too." She said softly. "For Yancy." She didn't bother to explain her reasoning. She could forgive for the same reason he could.

There was a long, comfortable silence.

"Why did you come back?" Mako asked finally. "I looked it up. Nobody has ever reenlisted to the Jager pilot corp. The science all says that it's possible to take a new partner, but nobody ever came back to try it."

"Well, think about it." Raleigh told her. "If someone takes a knife and carves half your brain away, would you want to go looking to strangers for replacements?"

"No." Mako confessed. "It is possible though. When I lost my family, I knew nothing would ever put back what I lost... But I got something pretty close."

Raleigh laughed. "I couldn't believe it when I saw him in that memory. The Marshal having a daughter? I just can't wrap my brain around that."

"Nobody could." Mako admitted. "I followed him around to every base and worked on every level, but he never gave me a Jaeger. Once I hit sixteen they all assumed I was his... I don't know the word in English... his 'kept woman'? Even when they found out what I could do, a few of them... They assumed I was sleeping with people who could get me promoted to Jaeger pilot."

"A rumor that won't improve after I get spotted leaving your room this late. To say nothing of tomorrow morning, when I go to Pentecost and tell him that if I don't have you as a partner, I quit."

Mako looked at him sharply. "Quit? You shouldn't... over me? You shouldn't do that."

Raleigh sighed hard. "Mako... Did you see our readouts? We drifted at almost 90%. That's never... With my brother, my link never made it past 79%. Enough to make a Jaeger dance and juggle at the same time."

Mako smiled a little, despite herself.

"I heard that someone was looking into civilian applications of Drift Tech." Raleigh said after a while. "Therapists, mainly. For couples therapy, survivor guilt; that sort of thing."

"And?"

"So far, every couple that tried it have broken up. I guess you look too deep, you see things you don't like."

Mako looked over at him. "Do you want to sleep with me?"

Raleigh wasn't even surprised by the question. "You've been in my head. You know the answer to that."

Mako shrugged. "You find me attractive. I find you attractive too. But that's not what I asked."

"I didn't challenge you in the dojo because I wanted a date, Mako."

"And I didn't step into the ring because I wanted you to ask me out. But most co-ed pairs that aren't related to each other end up as a couple. They keep it a secret because of the rules, but..."

Raleigh was completely at ease with the topic. He'd faced it before. Personal dynamics were part of the required learning at the Jaeger Program. "We're not obligated to pair up, just because we're partners. I'm told that Drifting makes sex incredible; and everything I see in you tells me we'd work. I mean, that's the  _whole point_."

Mako nodded. "The point is that we have to be a single soul in two bodies. The soul of the ultimate war machine. I don't feel right, making that into something... intimate; given that we're doing it for the sake of a war." She hid a little behind her cup. "Especially since I've never even been kissed before. Well, not sober, anyway."

"All the gossip websites that talk about Jaeger pilots? They forget that we're equally matched when platonic."

Mako smiled. "We are, aren't we?" Her head tilted as she looked at him. "You're thinking about the sparring match."

Raleigh met her gaze head on. "No. That's you."

Mako blinked. "Oh."

"Hard to tell, isn't it? Nobody really knows how much of the Drift sticks with you. If there wasn't a war on, they'd probably never let Drift Tech be tried." He sipped his drink. "How'd you feel about it?"

"About the match?" She didn't smile. "Nothing I didn't feel before. Though Herc asked me if I wanted a cigarette."

He laughed.

That settled, Mako patted the bed beside her, and he rose from his chair to sit with her, close enough to touch, though they did not. There was no awkwardness, no tension, just peaceful proximity. She felt so completely at ease with him. In a way, he'd been there her whole life. But she knew he wasn't sitting comfortably. She could feel his scars pulling tightly across his posture.

She pushed him back with one hand so that he lay back on her bed. She stretched out alongside him, still not touching. He was fully clothed, but she could  _feel_  his scars, pulling at  _her_  side, just as they did him. The only outward sign that most of him was lost. She didn't have those scars on the outside, but she was still the only other member of the program to be on the Pilot list after a Death Drift. The Drift Hangover was soothing, like something important wasn't missing any more.

She lay back to mirror him, and her side felt better. She didn't have his scars, but she felt them anyway. A memory flitted through her, of an old girlfriend that liked to cuddle up under his arm, and Mako closed her eyes a moment, breathing deep until it faded. "If Stacker says no anyway, wouldn't the mission have a better chance with you and Gipsy?"

"Maybe." Raleigh nodded. "But I already have a Drift Partner."

Mako rolled her head to the side and looked at him evenly. He looked back. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to thank him. She wanted to hug him close to her heart and never let go. She wanted to tell him to leave and find someone else to Drift with. "I have about a million thoughts racing through my head, and I don't know how to tell you."

"It's like that after the first time." He nodded. "It wakes things up in your synapses. Makes your brain speed up with all the extra neurons firing. Second Drift makes it easier."

"You think we'll ever Drift again?" She wavered.

"If there was a way, would you want to?" He returned.

Mako thought for a moment and rose to her feet. She held out a hand. "Come with me?"

* * *

She took him downstairs, to the sealed storage rooms. "While we were in Gipsy, Newt managed to Drift with a Kaiju brain." She explained.

"I heard. A dead one, at that." He nodded. "Does that sound as insane to you as it did to me?"

"Well... he succeeded." She shrugged, keying in her access codes. "Stacker always says that if your crazy plan works, you get a medal, and if it doesn't, you get a Court Martial."

"He told me that a few times too, but in my case I think it was a warning." Raleigh said blandly.

"Well, Newt was working on the idea for a while, and he started with a Training Pons. One that I... have a history with." Mako looked down and saw that he was already holding her hand reassuringly. Their near telepathy gave her a little shiver again, and Mako was suddenly certain she wanted to do this as she swung the heavy metal door open. "Stacker told me to put a stop to his project, so I confiscated the Pons from him. How he stitched one together, I'll never know, but the genuine article is... locked up safe."

"Unless you happen to know the code." Raleigh observed, unflappable. "You sure you want to do this again?"

Mako went over to the far side of the shelves, and collected the confiscated Pons. "I... I do."

There was silence for a while, as they set it up. They needed two chairs, the Pons needed a power supply, and a backup power supply. They were in a secluded storage room. Everything, including reclining chairs for the two of them, was within easy reach. Mako slid the heavy door shut, ensuring their privacy.

"They calculated it once." He said. "Finding a Drift Compatible partner is like hitting the lottery. Finding one outside your family? Like winning  _seven_ lotteries."

"And you found two. One related, one not. So you won eight lotteries." Mako observed, oddly flattered. She didn't know who started it, but found she was holding his hand again. "You would do it, wouldn't you?" She said finally. "You'd walk away if Pentecost said no to having me as your partner."

Raleigh nodded.

Mako smiled a little. "Nine lotteries."

Silence. They both settled into their chairs, with the Pons between them. It was what they had come here to do, but suddenly they were in no rush. There was no Jaeger, nobody monitoring... This was just for them.

"My parents split up, you know." Raleigh said after a while. "Lots of couples do, but... Mom had a new boyfriend before Dad had all his stuff moved out. Dad handled it by being... detached. He acted like it didn't bother him. Like nothing bothered him. Lots of people react that way to loss. They withdraw."

Mako nodded.

"When I lost my bother, I withdrew from everything for years." Raleigh told her. "But it wasn't grief. It was because... If you do this job, you have to be more open than any soldier has ever tried to be." He shrugged. "I never really pictured it before the program. A world where I existed and my brother didn't. And then we Drifted, and I  _really_  couldn't picture a world where I existed and my brother didn't." His hands were trembling. "The first few months? I saw his face every time I looked in the mirror. Literally; his reflection."

Mako shivered.

Raleigh picked up the other headset and held it out to her. She was already reaching for it, still in sync from their first Drift.

Resolved, she fit the headset over his head, and put the other on her own. She reached for the big intimidating red button, and found that his hand was there already. She laid her fingers over his.

"Last time, we got all the properties of a Drift, but we spent most of it chasing rabbits. There's no Gipsy between us now." He said finally. "We do this again... You won't just let me in. I'll  _be_  you."

"And I'll be you." Mako wanted to smile, but didn't. "I think... I think I have always been you."

The two of them started to push the button in perfect unison... When the alarms went off.

"BREACH!" They both shouted and pulled the headsets off, running for the door.


	10. Anyone Can Fall

"If they've sent something new..." Raleigh said as they ran. "If we're right about the Kaiju being smarter than we thought, then we've got a real problem. It'll go for Striker Eureka!"

"If the Brains Trust was right and it was a Double Event, Stacker will keep Striker out of the fight!" Mako called back as they boarded the elevator.

"Listen, your post is the Control Room." Raleigh told her as the elevator started moving. "I don't have a Combat Post yet, so maybe-"

The elevator suddenly went still. An instant later the lights went out, plunging them into darkness.

"The emergency lights?"

"They should have come on by now."

"Then it's not a power failure."

"Give me a boost, I'll get the hatch."

In the total darkness, Mako honestly wasn't sure which of them was speaking, or in truth, if either of them were speaking at all. The words and plans exchanged could easily have been in her head. She didn't need to see him. She wasn't feeling around for him in the dark when he boosted her up to the ceiling. She just... knew.

* * *

Eventually, they made it to the Control Room. It sounded like the battle was going poorly.

"All our Jaegers are fried. Anything digital is fried." Tendo was telling him, even as he was yanking dead circuits.

"What's the range?"

"Just the harbour. All the cranes are shut down... Looks like the city is still up."

"Still up and lit like a Christmas Tree for any passing monster to notice." Stacker growled. "Guidance?"

His people started checking their consoles. "Weapon guidance is offline. Manual targeting is... available, but no chance of ignition. We're digital. We're all digital."

"Not all." Raleigh said, stepping forward. "Marshal, Gipsy's systems are analogue."

Pentecost hesitated, and looked to Mako. The look they shared said it all.  _ _Maybe the universe has a different idea of 'last chance' than we do.__

* * *

Tendo briefed them as they suited up. "It was a Double Event alright." He reported. "Two Class Fours. Codenames: Otachi and Leatherback. We've already lost Crimson Typhoon and Cherno Alpha."

"Both of them?!" Mako blurted as she jumped up to the Conn-Pod. "The Alarm only went off a few minutes ago!"

"We didn't pick up a direction until they reached the Miracle Mile." Tendo growled. "Your tax dollars being saved, one penny at a time."

"What about Striker?" Raleigh asked, cool as a glacier.

"Intact, but completely shut down. One of them had a natural EMP blast."

"Something they probably learned from us." Mako commented. "Geizler proved the Hivemind theory, and at least a few of the Class Ones survived long enough to see cities getting shut down by EMP blasts, back before we had Jaegers to fight back with."

"Well, that's for the High IQ guys to fight over." Raleigh told her. "You ready for this?"

Mako shivered. "I think we've seen where the Rabbits go. We don't have to chase them any more."

"It won't be as chaotic this time. All those neurons are already in place." Stacker said, adjusting her harness for her. "As much as I'd love to send you straight to the city, our spotters say that the two Contacts have divided. Leatherback is staying with Striker Eureka, studying it."

"Reporting observations back to the Breach via the Hivemind." Mako agreed.

"If we're ever going to have a chance at making a Bomb Run, we need Striker to survive. The Kaiju are taking the time to study what we've got. How long do you think the Hansens will allow that?"

"Not long." Mako agreed. "Though I don't know what they plan to do about it."

Stacker stepped back toward the hatch and gave them their marching orders. "You'll have no support from anyone in Locent, past a walkie-talkie. We're completely shut down. Keep Striker Eureka alive for the Bomb Run, and save Hong Kong. I'm sorry to say it, but it has to be in that order."

"Yessir." Team Gipsy chorused.

And then the door was sealed, and it was just the three of them. Mako, Raleigh, and Gipsy Danger.

"Welcome Back. I was getting worried about you." The AI told them in that oddly disquieting digital voice. "Would you like to try again?"

"Yes." Raleigh and Mako said together.

At that moment, Gipsy shifted, as the carriers lifted them out of the Dome's Hangar, and turned toward the water.

"We engage Leatherback in ninety seconds." Raleigh told her. "Begin the Neural Handshake."

They hit the controls together...

Mako was uncertain of where she was for a few seconds. She saw the ocean flying past beneath them, as thought Gipsy was her eyes. Which it was. She felt the wind rolling over her skin, as though Gipsy's hull was her body. Which it was.

She was also aware of Raleigh beside her, undergoing the same sense of duality.

But she also felt... like she was marching.

* * *

_She was marching down a long street, toward a Kaiju. She was dressed in old-style armor, like a genuine Samurai of old. She had the hilt of her sword in her hand, ready to draw._

_Mako knew that Raleigh was there too, but she couldn't see him. She didn't have to look for him. He was standing exactly where she was, literally. She could tell that Yancy was there too. So was her father, and Stacker, and Tasmin, and Jess; all marching with her, as she strode with strong clear purpose to war._

_They were reaching the end of the road, and the Kaiju was waiting to meet them. But it wasn't a creature out of nightmares any more. It no longer stood hundreds of feet tall. She could look it in the eye. She could meet it as an equal._

_Mako drew her sword. "I do not fear you." She told it in Japanese._

_The Kaiju roared._

* * *

Leatherback roared when it saw the spotlights. It turned away from Striker Eureka to face the new challenger. Gipsy was released from it's transport harness, and landed in a combat crouch.

_I've been waiting my whole life for this moment._

"Here we go!" Raleigh said, and Mako could feel the war cry behind it.

* * *

Replacing a cell phone battery was faster than getting the Shatterdome reactivated. Tendo had called up the Twitter feed of the nearest news channel, and handed his phone to Stacker.

Stacker took the phone and watched the battle play out in short, cold sentences, scrolling across the screen. But he didn't care after the first two tweets. Battle was joined, and that was enough.

Mako had handled The Drift. Enough that she was in the fight at last, and Stacker would have let out a war whoop if there weren't so many people around. Mako had made it as far as the fight. He didn't need to know any more than that. Mako Mori had finally stepped into the ring.

He gave a smirk that could cut glass. The Kaiju had no idea what humanity had just turned loose on them.

Images came quickly to match the news, and Stacker checked. Gipsy had made landfall, and had Leatherback in a body-lock from behind.

* * *

Leatherback reared up, and rolled back, trying to make itself too heavy to hold onto. But it wasn't being lifted by Striker Eureka. Gipsy Danger was something the Kaiju hadn't seen in seven years. Compared to a nimble machine like Striker Eureka, Gipsy Danger was an Ironclad... But that only made her fists heavier and her body harder to beat down.

Gipsy Danger was fueled by something a lot more deadly than her Reactor Core. Her soul was Mako's fury, and Raleigh's cool detachment. All of Mako's knowledge, and all of Raleigh's practical experience. All of Mako's reflexes, and all of Raleigh's timing. All of her fire, and all of his ice. The Soul of Two Warriors, in one Ironclad body. Too slow to catch a Category 4, but too smart to be pinned down. Too weak to wrestle Leatherback straight up, but too skilled to ever be taken by surprise.

Mako gloried in it. Exalted in it. She thought she was The Sword. She was wrong. Everything that come before was just her temper cutting loose in combat. With Raleigh she was a true Pilot, cool and deadly. She thought back to the Dojo, and realized what a child she had been, all her training, all her effort, and it was the military version of an angry teenager throwing a tantrum.

But now she had Raleigh, pulling her back without making her less than she was. He was her focus. He  _gave_  her focus. He made her obsession give way to concentration. The two of them together was Tranquil Fury unleashed.

Leatherback roared, and Mako let it scream. It was a wild beast, roaring outrage. A week ago she had been the same, looking to simply overpower, overcome, to overload a target with the force of sheer rage.

And as Leatherback slammed into them, Mako suddenly knew what as waste of energy it was.

Gipsy Danger held up one forearm, keeping its teeth away. Leatherback gripped Gipsy by the shoulders and started pushing her back. Gipsy didn't try and check the movement, letting the enemy skid her backwards toward the harbor again.

The Kaiju had made a full on assault, and in so doing had saved nothing for defense.

"Plasma-Cannon!" Raleigh directed Gipsy, and her lilting AI voice quickly responded. Mako could feel her right hand morph into something a hell of a lot more dangerous than a fist. Gipsy spat blue fire into Leatherback's belly, its chest, its shoulder...

The Kaiju roared and pushed harder, turning its pain into a more powerful assault, but strength had proven useless against Gipsy's strategy; and using more brute force wasn't going to save it.

"Empty the clip!" Raleigh shouted to her.

Mako's strange affinity for the Kaiju had never been stronger. A week ago, Leatherback's mad charge would have been her tactic too, responding with more aggression when faced with a losing battle. Suddenly it seemed so clear: She never would have had a chance if she'd fought that way.

The Drift spoke truth to her, and for once, Mako could embrace it. All her fury and rage would have devoured her whole, and now she was free of it. It would have cost her life. As Gipsy kept firing, she had the proof right here. Leatherback kept roaring, all impotent fury, even as its insides were torn apart with cold fire. And as Gipsy kept firing and whole limbs were blown off the Beast, it still didn't change tack, obsessed with its doomed offensive.

Leatherback fell, defeated.

Mako gave a silent War Cry. She'd done it. She was a Jaeger Jockey, and she'd won her first battle. She was a Steel Samurai. The Sword of the Human Race.

__So. More than a third of the first timers don't survive their first Trial By Battle.__  Raleigh said in her mind.  _ _Feeling good?__

__Feeling great!_ _

__Good. Because Round Two is in about thirty seconds._ _

__Bring it on!  
_ _

Gipsy turned to march into the city, when suddenly a thought occurred. Yancy had been killed by a Kaiju that was considered dead. Mako's entire team had been killed by a Kaiju that was declared dead, and ready for dissection.

"I think it's dead... but let's check for a pulse." Raleigh suggested, and Mako heartily concurred, sharing the same thought.

* * *

"No pulse." Stacker said coolly, following the reports on his phone. "One down."

A moment later the Shatterdome Control Room lit up brightly.

"We're back up!" Tendo shouted, jumping clear over the console to get to his sensors. "We're rebooting, still rebooting..."

The whole Control Room was climbing the walls, except for Stacker, who was fixed and steady, using patience as a weapon.

After what seemed like a million years, they got their screens back.

Just in time to see Otachi spread its arms wide... and suddenly extend a pair of huge leathery wings.

A round of curse words in various languages rang out in shocked horror.

"Kaiju can fly." Tendo said blankly.

"Fly while carrying a full sized MK-3, no less." Stacker commented, as though such things happened every day.

"Did Satan feel the War was too easy?" Tendo asked rhetorically, as Otachi lifted Gipsy higher and higher.

High enough to vanish off their screens, and beyond the mounted cameras of the watching news helicopters.

Everyone froze for a moment, staring at the empty screens. Tendo wasn't sure, but he thought he could see Newt throwing up in one of the shots of Hong Kong.

"All right, let's take this to the Heliport." Stacker ordered. "Bring binoculars."

* * *

"We're out of options!" Raleigh grunted, still trying to break the hold that Otachi had on them. "What's our altitude?"

"Way too high!" Mako grunted. She could see the curve of the earth, above the clouds already. "We either kill this thing and try to use it as a parachute, or we try our luck with gravity!"

"Either way, we've got to kill this thing first, because if it can get this high carrying us, there's no plane that can catch it." Raleigh said. "And we're out of ordinance!"

She was a little surprised he hadn't picked it up from the Drift. She knew he didn't have everything, but the list of things left out was unpredictable.

"Not quite!" Mako grinned savagely. "We've got one trick left! Something the Kaiju haven't seen before!"

Mako keyed her controls... and unfurled The Sword.

It unrolled from their wrist, the huge steel plates trailing behind them like the tail of a kite, until the embedded cables retracted, and the plates were pulled tightly together, forming a blade longer than a complete railway train.

Mako felt the Sword like an extension of her arm. She was The Sword. She was The Swordmaker.

The movement came as easily to her as breathing. The moment, the machine, the enemy, the Co-Pilot, The Sword... Her whole life was an evolution to this exact moment, this exact night.

The slash took off Otachi's whole wing, plus most of the neck. Gipsy lunged for the body. Missed!

And suddenly they were in freefall.

And Otachi had lifted them high enough that they had plenty of time to think about it on the way down.

"Can this thing survive an impact like that?" Raleigh demanded. "I mean, it was designed to survive a lot of punishment!"

"From Kaiju. From gravity, I don't know. We've never actually tested for that before!" Mako called back.

And then, the voice of their savior, Stacker called over the radio. "Mako, open it up. Every flap, every joint, every cable. You've got to give the machine as much stretch as its got!"

This was a tall order. The Jaeger was meant to be unbreakable. It was meant to exist with no weaknesses. It wasn't meant to bend under any circumstances.

__If we smash, at least we saved Striker.__ She thought.  _ _Even if that means saving Chuck, we may have given the world a chance.__

__Maybe__ _._ She heard Raleigh think back, and she smiled into it, glad to have him so close, especially now that they were freefalling toward a football stadium, fast enough to build up some re-entry flames.

"Aim for the fifty yard line!" Raleigh shouted, and Mako almost laughed at the thought. "Who plays football in Hong Kong anyway?"

They missed the fifty yard line. They came down like a meteorite and landed squarely on the goalposts, nearly taking out half the seats at the same time.

__Touchdown!__ One of them thought, but Mako didn't know who.

And amazingly, impossibly, they got back up again slowly.

__Damn, you really know how to build things.__ Raleigh thought to her.

_Re_ _-Build things._  She corrected him absently.

Adrenaline had faded instantly, and Mako could barely stand. The impact had passed through to the pilots, but if Gipsy wasn't shattered, then they weren't either.  _ _Did that really just happen? Oh my god, I think it did!__

* * *

When they returned after the battle; they returned as heroes.

After their disastrous first Drift, they had been cast out. The Shatterdome was a pretty tight knit group, and Team Gipsy was not welcome in it. But now, the roar of the crowd was almost enough to max out her ears when they returned. It was like something out of a movie.

Mako had never chased the position because she wanted glory and fame. But the battle had not only justified her whole life, it had vindicated her faith in both Raleigh and Gipsy Danger... And theirs in her. Mako looked to her partner. More than ten years of her life, and Becket was the first one to insist that she get her shot, and the only one willing to put his life on the line to make sure she got it.

__We made it!__ The thought kept rolling back and forth in her head, and she didn't know if it was coming from her, her partner, or even from Gipsy.  _ _We made it! Finally made it!__

* * *

Mako had heard about post-mission 'aftercare'. The adrenaline rush had faded, and she supposed she should feel exhausted.

She had been exhausted before, but things were different now. Exhaustion had always left a hollow, empty feeling inside her. But now she had something there, filling the gap. The Drift had made her more...  _more_ , than she had ever been. Exhaustion had diminished her on her own, but not  _them_  as a unit.

But The Clock had been reset, and the reminder had hustled everyone back to work. Stacker had retreated to his office, with a bleeding nose.

Without even having to speak of it, Mako squeezed Raleigh's fingers without looking. He could hear everything she wanted to say but couldn't put into words. She could hear every point of advice and counsel he could offer as someone who'd been through all this before. She knew which thoughts she would take to heart, and which would seem like platitudes...

And then, without having to discuss it, they knew what they had to do. Raleigh went after Stacker, to check on her Sensei for her.

In a lifetime where one person always had to do the work of three, Mako was finally able to be in two places at once.

Raleigh checked on her family. She went to check on Gipsy Danger.

* * *

Tendo was smiling at her as she marched up to Gipsy's Bay in the Hangar. "Shouldn't you be resting?" He asked her. "Or celebrating, or posing for photos or something?"

"Hey, I had to make sure my Gipsy was feeling up to Round Three." Mako waved it off, already looking over the diagnostics.

"I can handle it!" Tendo promised her. "Besides, you've finally got a dance partner; go dancing."

"I would, except for one thing." She jerked her thumb over her shoulder, up at the clock.

Tendo's face hardened. "I hate that clock."

Mako nodded. "So do I. But it's only going to be ticking for so long. When this war is over? Then I'll relax."

Tendo handed her the tablet. "Well, there's not much to tell that you don't already know. The shock absorbers were maxed out, but easily replaceable. Same for the alloys and surface components. I mean, a Dome was designed to remove impact damage and send them right back out. It's what we do. The problem is the core."

Mako winced hard. "The coolant."

"You used up a lot of it shattering Otachi's tail. You used up a lot more of it when you 'burned up on re-entry'. There was barely enough to keep my guys from getting radiation poisoning when we hauled it back into the hangar."

Mako let out a breath between her teeth. "The coolant feeds run through the entire core,  _and_  the limbs."

"I know. We don't keep enough on hand. Coolant gets recycled through the coolant plant, but with it suddenly dry, the plant has cracked."

Mako's face fell. "We can't send her back into battle running without coolant. She'll fry. The core will melt right through the chest."

Tendo held up both hands. "I've already had words with Stacker and Hansen about it. They say that there's only one mission left, and Gipsy can handle it."

"The Bomb Run." Mako nodded. "Under half a mile of water, we might be okay." She let out a breath between her teeth. "Striker Eureka?"

"The control circuits got cooked by the EMP, but we've got components. Of all the spare parts we're running out of, we've got circuit panels to spare. The problem isn't the machine..."

"It's the pilots." She agreed, and glanced around the Conn-Pod. It was just the two of them. "I got a few messages from reporters."

"Congratulations, you're in the club." Tendo commented.

Mako shook her head. "That's just it. The ones calling for an Interview? None of the TV news, none of the Official Sources, none of the Government Press Agents, none of the Talk Shows. Everyone that has any kind of influence or ability to tell the world about something have already run for the mountains. The ones that  _are_  calling? They don't want to talk about the battle. Or even about me. They want to know why there were two of them this time. They want to know how far the Kaiju Blue fell like rain. They want to know if we're expecting  _three_  next time. They want to know how many Jaegers we have left in reserve."

Tendo looked down. "They're not covering a victory. They're covering the end of the world."

Mako nodded. "I hear there are mass suicides all over the planet. They're trying to deploy troops to hold back total anarchy, but there's not enough police and national guard units left after cutbacks and hunger got done disbanding them."

"If that freaks you out, try this." Tendo held up his phone. "We got an official advisory from the UN. They sent it out to the whole world. The Official Words is that nobody should travel more than five miles by car unless necessary. All the fuel tanks are running dry and blocking roads. Outside the cities, it's worse. Bandits on every highway, ambushing people."

Mako let out a breath. "And to top that off... there's something I need to tell you about Stacker."

"The nosebleeds?" Tendo looked around casually, making sure they were alone. "I already know. He asked me to... be ready."

Mako nodded. "The Doctors gave him only another few weeks." She sighed. "I'm starting to wonder if that's expecting too much."

"I've seen the scans of his brain. Frankly, I'm amazed he's not a complete vegetable."

Mako didn't smirk. "I think... I think Tasmin's keeping him together." She noted his look. "I know, it sounds like metaphysics. But I've done it now, and it seems... It seems like the only logical explanation. I have neurons in my head, and they aren't mine. So does Stacker. I don't know how they work exactly, but if Stacker's brain is melting... Maybe Tasmin's still in there somewhere, and that's why he can still think like a person."

Tendo almost gasped. "God, how did I not think of that?" He slapped his hand on the console. "There's just so much about the Drift we don't understand."

Silence.

"Have you told Stacker you're leaving?" Mako asked him out of nowhere.

Tendo froze for an instant, and then looked guilty. "How'd you know?"

Mako shrugged. "Just between us, I've been hearing the same thing from a lot of the staff. They're sticking around for the Bomb Run, and then they're going to leave."

Tendo shrugged helplessly. "What else can we do? What else can  _any_  of us do? The Bomb Run is our last chance to avoid extinction. If we fail this one, the Kaiju War is just them mopping up. Even if we win, the world's been kicked in the head so many times it may never get up again."

Mako nodded weakly. "I know. I know it. You've done more than...  _Everyone_  still here has done more than enough. Half the base had to leave when the Corp got shut down, but some of us stayed for another few rounds. Can't expect more than that. Especially not if we lose the last of our Jaegers."

Tendo nodded. "The Old Man won't see it that way. He won't leave his post. He'd fight the Kaiju with his teeth if he had to."

"I don't think he has anywhere else to go." Mako offered.

"What about you?"

Mako hesitated, and gently touched a finger to her temple. "A lot of things can change in the Drift. I... I may never be without my home again."

"Must be nice." Tendo said softly to himself. "To always know where you... fit."

Mako's tablet chimed, and she checked it. "Marshal Hansen wants to see me."

Tendo smiled. "There it is. Gipsy Danger just got promoted. You're running the bomb yourself."

"You think so?" Mako wavered.

"With Herc's shoulder busted up? He can't fight. So either Gipsy makes the run alone, or they put you and Raleigh in Striker Eureka... And I'm betting they're not getting you of that Jaeger without a crowbar." Tendo looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Talking to Pentecost. About what, I'm not sure." Mako said absently, suddenly scared out of her brain. "You really think they'll give us the Mission?"

"Well, who else is there?" Tendo said reasonably.

Mako turned to go, walking like a zombie.

__You'll go all the way to the Breach. You'll go right up to their gates and knock.__  Harker's voice came to her from beyond the grave.  _ _And they'll let you in. Because they want you.__

Mako's hands were shaking at the thought that he might be right.

* * *

Herc's arm and shoulder had been treated. He kept the sling simple, but Mako could see the binders keeping his arm steady. There was no way he'd have any range of motion, and any impact would be agony.

"We didn't get much of a chance to talk before." He said when she came in. "But I wanted you to know... Your Old Man is so proud of you it's scary. And so am I."

Mako flushed. She had grown up with drill sergeants. She wasn't used to open compliments. "Thank you."

"How do you feel it went?" Herc asked her kindly.

Mako thought about it a moment. "You know the best part? It wasn't anything like I thought it would be."

Herc smiled at her. "What did you think of the Drift?"

Mako flushed and looked at her shoes. "Um... no comment."

Herc nodded, not surprised. "It's a very... personal thing. I ask, because if we manage to win this thing, you and Raleigh are going to be household names. You might want to get some of the answers ready for when the questions are inevitably asked."

"I don't care about that." Mako waved it off.

"Neither did Raleigh. He left it to his brother, as I recall. But it's not about what interests you. It's about what interests the entire world. And if we manage to live out the week, it's because we've won the war."

"I suppose so." Mako sighed. "I... I seem to be getting everything I want this week, and all I can think is that it's all going to be over so fast." She was silent a moment. "Which, is a good thing, I guess."

Herc nodded. "I know. I think about next week, and I can't wrap my brain around it. The war being  _over_? Just can't see it."

Mako gestured at him. "You were there when it  _started_. I've never lived in a world without Kaiju. It's... it's actually kind of scary, to think that it might all be over. I can't believe I'm part of it."

Tiny pause.

"And I  _really_  can't believe  _Chuck_  is part of it." Mako added, and both of them burst out laughing.

"The reason I wanted to talk to you..." He grunted, trying to settle his shoulder a bit. "I wanted to ask you... Did Stacker tell you why Raleigh Beckett is here?"

"Because Gipsy would accept nobody else." Mako said as though it was obvious.

Herc smirked. "You two just don't know how to talk to each other, do you?"

"Like you and Chuck, you mean?" Mako retorted.

Herc snorted. "Mako. Stacker didn't reactivate him for Gipsy, or even for the mission."

Mako blinked. "Then why is he here?"

Herc just looked at her like it should be obvious. "The Old Man brought him here for  _you_."

The alarms suddenly went off.

Mako and Herc both jumped to their feet, the older man wincing painfully as the shock ran through his wounded arm. "A Breach? Again? So soon?"

"I think the Kaiju know it too. They know the game's over." Mako commented. "I think they know this is it."

* * *

Mako and Raleigh made their way to the Staging Room. All their gear was there, lined up in alcoves, side by side. Their names were written above their suits, their diagnostics, and their helmets, scribed on masking tape. To the left were suits for Herc and Chuck Hansen. Both untouched. She'd beaten them there.

Further along were the Russian and the Chinese teams... Their alcoves were empty too. None of them had returned to replace their suits.

She knew Raleigh was there before she saw him, and the two were back in their combat gear quickly. "Tendo tells me that there were two contacts, but neither of them were leaving The Breach. They're just... waiting."

"If they're standing guard, then that proves it." Mako said decisively.

"Proves what?"

"All of it. The Hivemind, the Anteverse, the Invasion Plan... It means the Kaiju know we're coming."

"It means the Kaiju are attack dogs." Tendo told them, suddenly appearing. He made his way to the back of the room and started digging his way through the lockers. "It means we just got a whole new idea of who the enemy is... And The Old Man says it makes no difference. We don't need to conquer a whole other dimension, we just have to keep them the hell out of ours."

"What? You think we can't pummel a whole universe into submission?" Mako grinned coldly.

Tendo snorted, pulling a crate out of storage and heading for the door at a quick clip. "If anyone could, it's you."

Raleigh got to the point. "If it makes no difference, then what's the plan?" Tendo hadn't even slowed down, and Raleigh had to shout after him. "Is Gipsy carrying the bomb now?"

Tendo was already on his way out. "Report to Hangar Deck!" He called back.

Mako felt cold all over. The crate Tendo had been carrying was the kind they used to store old combat suits.

It had Stacker Pentecost's name stenciled on the lid.

* * *

Mako knew that someone was always recording, and she was glad for it. She'd barely heard a word he said, even when his speech brought the whole Dome to its feet. The sound of the roar brought her back to herself. Raleigh was holding her hand tightly, and she squeezed his fingers back.

But she hadn't heard anything he said past those fateful words. "You are a brave girl, and I was lucky to see you grow up. If I'm going to do this, I need you to protect me now."

She had never, not once; heard him ask for anyone's protection. And from her least of all. He was her Sensei. Her father. He protected her, not the other way around.

She saw the determined hope on all their faces. Stacker was the soul of the Dome now. Where he went, the others would follow. In a world where even the mountains would tremble, Stacker Pentecost was the one fixed point they all clung to. If he was marching off to war personally, then as far as they were concerned, it was either a sure victory, or the last gasp of everything they had left.

"Or both." Raleigh whispered in her ear.

Mako came out of her thoughts suddenly, as they arrived at the Conn-Pod. The heat was sizzling off Gipsy Danger, enough that they could see the air quivering as they came closer. Unless they dumped her in the ocean, movement would be too much for her to take without melting down completely. "Sorry. Was I... thinking too loud?"

"A little." He smirked. "I have enough of you to know that a year ago you'd be losing your mind. You never get to Drift with your Sensei, but Chuck Hansen does? It's the ultimate insult made injury."

"It is." Mako nodded. "But I don't feel angry about it. In fact..." Mako almost laughed. "I haven't felt this 'right' in years."

Raleigh smiled, just a little. "Me neither." He looked at her sideways. "But you know you can't lie to me. Not any more."

Mako winced, just a little. "I know."

"Mako..." Raleigh said in what almost sounded like wonder. "You're afraid."

Mako nodded weakly.

"Of what?" Raleigh heard himself say it and rolled his eyes. "Okay, stupid question."

"I'm not scared of dying." Mako promised him. "And I'm not scared of losing, since I'd be too dead to care. I'm... I'm scared of what happens if we succeed. I guess... I'm afraid of the Breach."

"Why?"

"Because he might have been right." Mako said softly. "Harker might have been right. I'm going right to their Gates, and if they let me in... I'm not superstitious at all, unless you count empathic connections to dead Jaegers... But even so, I can't help but wonder, what if Onibaba  _did_  want me specifically? They came for Newton Geizler. They  _can_  carry out missions."

"Mako, you just used the words 'Harker' and 'right' in the same sentence." Raleigh told her. "Besides, we're not going into the Breach. We know for sure now that there's something on the other side, and we don't care about that. So you go to the Breach, then what?"

Mako nodded. "Right." She swallowed. "It's really happening, isn't it?"

* * *

Moira Leighton huddled in the Evac Center. Her son, Peter was sleeping fitfully, coughing and wheezing.

There weren't enough cots to go around, but that didn't bother people too much, because they didn't have enough of anything else, either.

The PA system was assuring them that there would be more food available in the morning, and that the buses were coming to send them on their way inland. But nobody really believed it any more. They could all get the news on their phones and tablets.

"Here."

Moira looked up in surprise. A young woman was holding out a blanket.

"I hear your kid is sick, and I figured you could use another blanket."

Moira took it gratefully and tucked the blanket around her son. "Thanks. I gave him mine, but someone stole it."

"It's getting like that all over the place." The younger woman nodded. "They say they're going to move us inland soon."

"You believe that?" Moira asked wearily.

"Not really." Her new friend sighed. "That's the problem with the world. Nothing left worth believing." She almost laughed. "Believe me on that one."

Moira was about to answer, when her phone chimed with the news alert. Moira pulled it out immediately. "It's happening." She whispered.

* * *

The battle did not go well.

_We knew it'd be a bad fight._  Raleigh thought to her, even as they clawed their way upright.

_You want to make God Laugh, tell him you have a mission plan._  Mako grit back.  _So, exactly which corpse are we supposed to use?_

_I don't know. Does it still need a pulse, or can-_

**WHAM!**  They were hit again.

_I am really getting sick of fighting three enemies I can't see!_  Mako raged.

"There's nothing we can do!" Chuck was yelling.

Mako felt a chill of premonition. There was still one way to complete the mission. She knew both machines better than almost anyone. Except, maybe, for Stacker Pentecost.

Stacker's voice came over the radio just as she thought it. "We can clear a path... for the lady."

Mako squeezed her eyes shut for half a second, the inevitability of it hammering her. She could hear his voice getting more ragged. He was dying. Being in Striker was burning him alive, melting his brain... He was a hundred feet away, and he was dying. And he knew it would happen, but he volunteered anyway.

"Gipsy!" Stacker roared to them, even as they heard metal rupturing in the background. "You can finish the mission!"

_You'll go all the way to the Breach. You'll go right up to their Gates and knock._

Mako felt her hands shake. It was happening. This mission was everything she'd wanted her entire life, and now that it was here, it was nothing but her worst nightmares coming true.

She could feel the weight of Gipsy shifting to Raleigh. He was taking over the most of the task, giving her the brain cells she needed to speak with her father, one last time.

Chuck knew it too. "My father said, if you've only got one shot, you take it!" He shouted over the growing sound of rushing water. "It was an honor, sir."

Mako felt Tasmin reach out from the Drift. For a moment, the wave of familiarity shocked her. It lasted only an instant, and then she was with Raleigh again. She felt the currents shifting, telling her that Kaiju were all attacking Striker Eureka.

"Mako!" Stacker called to her, voice going hoarse. "You'll find me! I promise! I'll always be there for you!"

Mako felt her face harden, and her eyes well up. But she would keep her eyes clear and open. She would do that for him.

"You'll always find me in the Drift!" Stacker shouted his last promise to her daughter.

"Sensei, I love you!" Mako choked out in Japanese.

And then the ocean exploded. The water boiled and tossed, out of control. Then the shockwave hit them. Gipsy bent low, taking it on like a tidal wave. Jaegers were meant to stand against the hurricane.

"Underwater explosion!" She shouted to Raleigh on autopilot. "After the shockwave, the water rushes back to where it was. Watch out for the implosio-"

An instant later, it hit them, and Gipsy had to hang on against the wall of water suddenly going the other way.

* * *

They didn't feel it in California. The blast was too far away.

But word came quickly enough. Amy peered closer at Moira's phone as the news shifted the picture back to the news-desk. "Who's he?"

"I don't know." Moira admitted. "Something must have happened..."

The kid behind the desk looked borderline terrified at the camera. "Um, my name is Nick Dawson. I'm an associate producer here at Channel 11. Um, your regular newscaster has... evacuated, to check on his family. I... Ahem, I'm pretty much the only one still here. We're getting a report from some of the Ocean Sensors. We can't verify it yet, but it looks like there's been a massive explosion at the Breach."

Moira felt her heart give a solid thump.

"Now, we don't know what that means yet." The kid on the screen said. "Obviously, we hope it's good news. Our source in the Tokyo Dome says there's a mission underway, but there's no word on how it's going, or exactly what the goal is, but the explosion has been measured in the multi-kiloton range. I'm afraid we can't be more specific than that."

"They did it." Moira breathed.

"Can't be." Amy said, her voice was low and borderline horrified.

Moira glanced over. "Why not?"

Amy said nothing.

The kid behind the desk wasn't finished. "There's... The Breach, of course, is at the bottom of the ocean, between two tectonic plates. You'll remember, from the first attempts to detonate the Breach, that such attacks have failed in the past. We're getting reports of massive underwater earthquakes as a response of the blast. If you live in coastal areas along the Pacific Rim, please get to higher ground immediately..."

"Think we're far enough away from the coast?" Amy asked.

"I don't know." Moira sighed. She looked around. She saw everyone looking at screens. There was no more terror here. Everyone had experienced their full measure. Numb exhaustion was all they had.

And then the ground trembled, and everyone woke up in a hurry. Some of them screamed, some dove for the floor, some of them ran for the doors...

Moira turned to the younger woman. The ground pitched again, just for an instant, and they both grabbed onto each other for support. "Listen... I don't much... I mean, I didn't come here because I figured this was any better, you know?"

Amy nodded.

"I know there's no food here, and frankly, I don't trust the soldiers any more than I trust my neighbors back home. But I thought that maybe there was still some medicine..." She gestured at her son. Petey was coughing, still pretty woozy. "There was a few antibiotics, but..."

"Not enough of anything." Amy nodded. "Look... I'll be honest with you. If that blast  _did_  close the Breach, then this might be a bad spot to be."

"I don't follow."

Amy leaned closer, lowering her voice. "A lot of people have done a lot of dirty things. And nobody has called them on it, because the world is ending. But if it turns out that the world is going to keep turning after all, then the rules change back, and all these..." She made air quotes with her fingers. "...these 'civilized people' might decide to start giving a crap about us again."

Moira swiftly understood. "And if the profiteers and the perverts realize that too, then they might start covering their tracks."

Amy shrugged. "I traded a few 'favors' to get... well, to get out of jail, to be perfectly honest."

Moira snorted.

The PA suddenly crackled to life. "People, we've just received a tsunami warning for the entire Pacific Rim. At this point, we don't know how severe it might be, but if you're concerned; I should warn you that we don't really have enough transport for everyone-"

Amy turned. "Word around the campfire is that you have transport?" Amy suggested quickly.

"If I did, would telling me you're a convict really be the way to get yourself a ride somewhere?" Moira shot back.

"Not for me, dummy. But if they figure out you've got a working car, they'll kill you for the keys, and then each other just to get a seat. A smart woman would run for it right now before they got that organized." Amy opened her jacket a little to reveal a concealed gun. "Would you like someone to walk you to your car?"

Moira considered her options and quickly gathered up Petey. "Let's move."

They hurried to the exits. People were already crowding, pushing and shoving to get past. Moira had been through enough riots to know when one was about to break loose.

There weren't a lot of cars in the parking lot. Most people that still had their cars couldn't afford to run them any more. Moira had been saving her rations for a 'rainy day.'

Three people had already made it to her car before she did. They came running up, just as one of them smashed out a window to get inside.

"That's my car!" Moira warned them.

The three turned and glared at her. "Then you must have the keys."

Amy brought up the gun faster than they could follow. "We've got a lot of things you didn't bargain for. Walk away, right now."

The man that had broken the window drew a knife. His two friends flanked him.

Amy pulled the hammer back on her weapon."Don't push me."

"You're bluffing." He sneered. "Nobody's got bullets any more."

Amy pulled the trigger and shot him dead. An instant later, the gun was pointed at the next guy. "Anyone else?"

The two thugs turned and ran for it.

Moira sent a glance back at the rest of the crowd. The shot had gathered some attention. "I suppose I can't just leave you here after that, now can I?"

"I'd appreciate it." Amy nodded.

"And I'd appreciate you handing over that weapon before I let you into a car with my son."

Amy checked the approaching crowd, and quickly held it out, grip first. "Decide fast, please."

Moira put her boy in the backseat and checked the weapon. Empty. "You got into a showdown with three guys and only one bullet?"

"One was all I needed."

Moira grit her teeth and started the car. "So. I guess it's a stupid idea to ask if you're dangerous to have around. What were you in for?"

Amy smirked. "Well, look at it this way, either the Blast just took out the Breach, and it doesn't matter, or the mission failed, and it  _really_ doesn't matter."

Moira snorted again. The War had cost her nearly the entire family, her home, her town, most of her friends, and she'd spent most of the last year either fighting or running from bandits that were after her scraps. She was far too jaded to pick a fight with Amy West.

The crowd saw the car was working, and started running towards them.

Moira put her foot down and outpaced them. "So, I assume we're heading inland?"

"We're heading anywhere you like, it's your car."

"In that case, we may as well go back to my house. We'll be pushing the fuel tank, but we can get there. As I said, the refugee center was just me hoping to find medicine."

Amy nodded.

Moira lowered her voice. "And once we get there, I can drop off my boy and we can get down to business."

Her passenger looked over. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

* * *

It had all come to the inevitable conclusion at last. The smartest people in the business had burned out their brain cells getting their knowledge needed for the final stage of the plan, telling them what they needed to get through. The life's work of a million engineers and trillions of dollars had been boiled down to one machine that could barely move. After decades of training, preparation and testing, there remained only two active pilots left in the world, both there to carry out the mission. After all the support and backup that the combined effort of the world's governments had been giving for ten years, the only people left that could offer them advice were either bankrupt or dead. The weapons of the ultimate war had all been used up, nothing left. A lifetime of training and hard work, driven by demons and obsessions that bordered on madness; all of Mako's skill rested on her ability to fall into the world's deepest hole.

"Oxygen depleted." The AI told them tonelessly.

Mako actually found herself giggling as her lungs fought for air that wasn't coming. It was like a macabre race. What would kill them first? The Kaiju? Their Masters? The Breach? The explosion? Oxygen deprivation?

Or worse, would she somehow survive, and wake up surrounded by whoever made the Kaiju?

Mako's world went fuzzy. Maybe Harker was right after all... She thought to herself. I'm doing exactly what he said I would do. I wonder how he knew... I wonder what I'll find when I get there.

"Like. Hell." She heard her partner say aloud with grim effort.

_And they'll let you in, because they want_   _you_. Harker whispered to her from beyond the grave. _  
_

_I won't be able to resist them..._  Mako thought distantly, at the very end of her strength.  _Whatever they want, they'll get it. After Onibaba failed, and their Minions failed, I actually walked up and fought my way in, God help me..._

"Mako, I can handle it from here. All I have to do fall. Anyone can fall."

_Raleigh? Oh. Right. Raleigh's here. So everything's okay._

She could feel air ticking on her face, darkness still surrounding her. She felt like she was in a dream, like she was moving. She felt her body shift as the walls closed in. It was oddly peaceful, Gipsy closing in on her protectively.

__Mako, before we hit, I just want to say thank you. I never would have gotten back in the game if I hadn't found you here._ _

__Yeah, I did you a big favor, didn't I?__ Mako thought back to him... and passed out.

* * *

She woke up, rocking gently. For a split second, she was a little girl, being rocked by her mother. For a split second, she could hear her father calling her name warmly.

_Mako... Mako..._

Then she heard the birds. Seagulls. So peaceful. She could feel Raleigh, somewhere. She didn't know where. But he was with her, so she wasn't alone. She'd never be alone again.

"Mako!"

She woke up fully. She was... in an escape pod. For a moment, she couldn't believe it. Jaegers came equipped with escape pods, but almost never got the chance to use them...

The ocean was relatively still, and stretched out in every direction. Dawn had broken, and clear blue skies shone around her. After so much violence, it was so peaceful and crisp and beautiful, that Mako honestly thought she had died and gone to heaven.

"MAKO!"

"Locent?" She responded, sitting up. "I'm here. Where's..."

A second pod exploded up from beneath the surface, and Mako knew instantly what had happened.

He had sent her back up, before they reached the Breach. He had released her, before they'd reached their Gates. Raleigh had gotten her out, before the point of no return. She dove into the water without hesitation, swimming as best she could in a combat suit.

"We can't get a read on his vitals."

Mako freaked. She could still feel him. He was there. He was there in her mind... except he wasn't saying anything. She wasn't sure if it was the fact that one of them had passed out. She was still so new at having a connection that ran so deep.  _Is this what it feels like? Is this what Stacker felt when Tasmin died? Sensing him anywhere and not getting anything?_

She couldn't have lost him, could she? He couldn't really be gone, could he? They were woven so completely into each others souls now. If he was gone, wouldn't she be gone too?

She got the pod open and checked him. The pod hardware was fried. She planted her face into his chest, listening for a heartbeat, or a breath. Nothing. She dug her fingers in so tightly that she could feel her bones hurt, as if she could find a pulse by physically climbing inside him.

"He's not breathing!" She called back in panic. She knew it couldn't possibly be real. She knew he was alive. She still felt like she 'fit' somewhere in the universe. She still felt him, right there in the Drift... So why wasn't he breathing?

_Raleigh, why aren't you breathing? You can't leave me alone. Not after all this. Not after everything. After Jess, and Yancy, we found each other and won eight lotteries and won the damn war, and why aren't you breathing?_

_Because..._

"You're holding me too tight." He answered her, low and raspy from oxygen deprivation.

She released him instantly, a huge smile on her face. She could already hear the rescue choppers. The same one that had dropped them off, still in the area, still in formation.

If it had been a movie, they would have kissed. But such was not their relationship. Their connection went a lot deeper. Even so, they held each other tightly, letting their contact enhance what the Drift already provided. With her forehead resting against his, she couldn't even tell where she started and he finished any more.

Rescue came for them, and they could hear the whole Dome screaming hysterically in the background.

_We won, didn't we?_ Mako thought to him.

_Yes._

_I don't quite believe it._

But he believed it, and she let the reassuring force of his certainty wash over her, as rescue came to carry them home.

* * *

Moira pulled up in front of her house. The gardens had been picked clean and trashed, every window smashed open. The neighbors houses were all abandoned, and the house itself was dark and quiet.

Moira reached between the front seats and shook Petey awake. "Pete. Time to wake up, sweetie."

Petey did so. "We're back?" He slurred.

"Yeah. Go inside, sweetheart. I'll be with you in a minute."

Petey nodded and opened the door. He was moving slowly.

Amy reached for the door handle, and Moira put a hand out to stop her. Amy turned. "Problem?"

Moira waited until Petey had entered the house. "A few years ago, a member of the Kaiju cult came after my daughters, back when I still had three kids. His name was Harker, and he was after a close friend of my girls. Her name was Mako Mori."

Amy's face hardened. "Mori warned you about me?"

"I haven't spoken to Mako in years. Long story. Not a happy one." Moira excused. "So. While we're waiting to hear the news, how about we get comfortable?"

Amy moved. Faster than Moira could react, she came up with a knife. "How about you give Mako a call?"

"How about we wait and see what the morning brings?" Moira growled, not intimidated. "If they've pulled it off and sealed the Breach, what are you hoping to prove? And if they didn't, what does it matter?"

"You think I'm trying to avenge the goddam Kaiju?" Amy hissed, completely feral. "You have any idea what they  _do_ to Cultists on the inside? You think I give a damn about them anymore? You have  _no idea_  what I went through in there. And you know what? Nobody came to help me."

"Not even your own personal gods?" Moira needled.

"Not even them. You know what kept me sane?"

"Plotting your revenge on the girl that brought you in?" Moira guessed.

Amy gave a single cold nod. "Not an easy battle plan to figure out. Mori never leaves the Dome and has no connections to anything or anyone. Then I saw on the news that a double event had hit Hong Kong, and that it was a Class Three Jaeger called Gipsy Danger that saved the day, and that her pilots were Raleigh Becket... and Mako Mori. So. Now she's got a really major connection. Now she's got something to lose. Something that'll put her on her ass a lot harder than what she did to your daughter."

Moira twitched. "That's your plan, then?"

"I've seen what happens to people who lose their partners, Mrs Leighton." Amy nodded. "It's almost as bad as what I went through, thanks to the goddam Tokyo Girl." She took a breath and gripped her knife tightly. "But there's nothing to draw them out of the Dome... except you."

"And how do you plan to let her know you have me? She's in Hong Kong now, if she survived the mission at all."

Amy turned the radio on. "Well then. Let's see what the morning brings."

Moira considered her options, and pressed a button on the console.

Amy heard the doors all lock, and was about to say something fierce, when Moira suddenly dropped the car into gear and floored the accelerator.

Amy pressed the knife harder against Moira. "You think I'm playing with you?"

"I know you aren't." Moira growled back. "But I've been threatened with death way too often to be scared of you, little girl!"

Amy roared, and Moira pressed the pedal right to the floor...

...aiming for a tree.


	11. What's Next?

She had expected a media frenzy, but neither of them wanted that. Raleigh had done the whole 'fame' thing, and found it to be a dream, until Yancy died, when it suddenly became a nightmare.

"My dad told me to do the interviews anyway, because I had to set up a 'Retirement Fund' before I became yesterday's news." He explained.

"And?" Mako couldn't help but ask.

"I took another week to think about it, by which time another Jaeger had been ripped apart, and everyone was talking about that. Hundreds of people wanted to talk about me and Yancy, and then they didn't." He shrugged. "The problem with fame, Mako? It never leaves you alone, until it completely leaves you alone."

"I don't think we can avoid it. We saved the world. There's not a lot of people who do that." Mako offered. "At least... not many that are still alive."

"Hm." Raleigh sighed. "We may have saved the world, but most of the world doesn't know it yet. The media is all running for their lives, away from the Pacific Rim; same as the refugees."

"That's true." She admitted, not thinking of that before. "The UN broke ties with us and has no idea what's going on in here. Everyone else gets their news from the UN or the Media, so..."

"And they won't declare until they're good and sure The Breach is going to stay closed."

"Well, I'd rather not have them all here for the next part, anyway." Mako said, suddenly looking a hundred years older. "This part stays in the family."

* * *

There were only three Jaeger Jockeys left in the world. But it took the population of a small town to make the Dome work. Most of them had left, but those that stayed all gathered in the Conference Rooms. It was a little tight, but none of them cared about that. Mako, Herc and Raleigh all stood at the head of the table. Everyone was passing around bottles of drink, each pouring themselves enough to toast the fallen.

"I know that my son rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. Some of the time, so did I." Herc toasted. "But he had that quality the we all held to. It's not Drift Compatibility, it's not Combat technique. It's the X Factor. It's the courage that makes a firefighter run into a burning building when everyone else is running out. It's the loyalty that makes a soldier stay on the battlefield to try and save a man that can't be saved..." His voice cracked a little. "Or blow up your own Jaeger, just to clear the way."

_Nothing about their family._  Raleigh observed in Mako's head. She glanced over and saw that the actual Raleigh seemed to be having the same thought.

_He's trying to get through the speech without cracking, so he's keeping it abstract._  Mako told her inner self.  _Stacker was the same way._

"For most of the war, we didn't really have time to set aside a day for mourning." Herc continued, getting his voice under control. "The last few months, we just didn't have the time. Not even for an hour."

There was a rumbling of agreement to that. All of them had been doing the work of three people.

"But Stacker wasn't just a Pilot. And he wasn't just our CO. He was the soul of the place. He was the  _will_. Let's not kid ourselves, it was always a team effort, but The Old Man got us all here through sheer force of his own will." Herc eulogized. And then he did what Mako had been dreading since the start of the memorial. Herc turned to her, and gestured for her to stand up and say something.

Mako felt her stomach drop into her shoes. How was she supposed to sum up the man in a hundred words or less? He was her father, her teacher, her guardian. He was the biggest obstacle, and the strongest support. How was she meant to eulogize him after so many years?

_Too bad he's not here, because he'd know what to say._

She felt Raleigh squeeze her hand reassuringly, and then he stood up and started to speak himself. "Everyone had given up." Raleigh said simply. The politicians, the civilians, even the military... Everyone gave up on the war. I was a Death-Drift Burnout, welding together a Wall that I knew wasn't worth spit. I couldn't even get a job as a recruiter. Everyone, including myself, had given up on me. Gipsy Danger was scrap metal, and even after rebuilding her, nobody wanted her to do anything but take her apart again." He glanced at Mako. "Almost nobody."

Mako twitched.

"As far as we were all concerned, we were out of second chances." Raleigh continued. "But Stacker had his own view of when the game was over. He believed that when there was absolutely no room for anything more to go wrong, that was the moment that people would pull it together. Even the disavowed, cast-off, broken down people, armed with machines to match." Raleigh toasted. "He was right. We were hopeless, disbanded, and none of us expected us to live out the day. And then, he and Chuck cleared the way.."

If anyone noticed a choked sob come from Herc Hansen's throat, they were kind enough not to mention it.

"So, here's to Stacker Pentecost." Raleigh wrapped it up. "The Marshal of Last Chances."

"To Stacker!" The room toasted.

Silence.

Finally, Mako stood up. "Stacker would reach back from wherever he is and kick all our collective asses if we left it there." She said quickly. "So while we're at it..." She held up her drink, and began speaking the names. "Yancy. Tasmin. Luna. Zeke. Stephanie. Jess. Paul. Gregg. Sanchez. Pittman. Ilsapie. Lo Hin Shen. Kennedy. Sumako. Angela. Duc. Sasha. Aleksis. Xiang. Tang."

There were hundreds of others to go on the list, but she could see everyone's face shifting as she counted the ones that had fallen around them.

_You really_ _do_ _remember them all, don't you?_  Raleigh said in her mind, and she sent him whatever reassuring thoughts she could.

Mako and Raleigh had drifted closer to Herc. The final three, connected by a common kind of loss, in the most uncommon battle. Three warriors, the survivors of three teams.

Herc nodded and took the torch from her. "The honored dead. Now the victorious dead. Here's to them all."

The room gave a salute and drank, none of them saying anything more.

* * *

Mako knew she should feel something after the funeral, but she didn't know what. She was heartbroken about her father, but she hadn't realized how  _complete_ she would feel. She still had Raleigh, and where the numb emptiness had been for most of her life, there was only a comfortable sense of... Wholeness.

But she had very nearly lost them both.

* * *

Raleigh barely noticed his quarters. He preferred the On Call room. The bunk beds were much less comfortable than the beds in the VIP quarters, but he had spent more than a few years following the Wall and sleeping in the backseats of cars, shelters, even on the streets. An actual bed was beyond him at this point.

The Memorial had lasted a lot longer than he'd expected. Everyone wanted him or Mako to tell the tale. He wasn't against War Stories as a rule, especially since you had to earn the right to tell them, and there was only one way to do that. But after the War Stories, the Brains Trust demanded they tell the whole story again, this time with focus on the Anteverse. And after the Science Teams had finished dissecting his testimony like he'd made it all up, somebody finally thought to get the UN on the line, and they'd demanded the whole story  _again_ , practically accusing them of making up such a wild story with a happy ending.

The whole time, Raleigh could feel Mako thinking about Stacker, and almost nothing else. Finally, someone had noticed that he was dead on his feet and called for Mako. She hadn't answered her summons, and Herc had finally come to the rescue, shutting down the conversation for another day.

Raleigh was as exhausted as a person could be, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his room.

There was a knock on the door.

Raleigh looked up. "Better be important!"

The door opened a little, and Mako stuck her head into his room. Her eyes were red and tired. "Can I come in?"

"Just you." Raleigh sighed.

Mako slipped in and shut the door behind her. She pressed her back against the door and slid down to the floor, opposite him. "I feel like I've been holding my breath since I was ten years old, and now I'm surrounded." She sighed. "Mind if I hide here?"

Raleigh laughed. "If they can't find you in your quarters, this'll be the first place they look."

"I'll risk it." She yawned.

Long silence.

"You know why he paired us?" Mako asked finally. "I didn't understand why until I completely screwed up our first Drift."

Raleigh looked over, curious. "Tell me."

"He wanted to know if the Drift would heal me. Because he knew he couldn't make it better himself. He knew he didn't have long left to live. He wanted someone else who could do what he couldn't, after he was gone."

Raleigh looked down. "Mako... Stacker was on Point the night Yancy died."

Mako nodded. "I remember. I remember he flew out to your Dome to see you."

Raleigh shivered. "He'd lost a copilot. Not in combat, but still. I know he felt responsible."

"For what?"

"For the people under his command. Yancy and I played it fast and loose, but he was being considered for the entire theater command. The buck stopped with him." He looked at her shyly. "I think he wanted us to... fix each other."

Mako smiled. A real smile this time. "I had no idea what it was like." She almost laughed. "I've never felt this..."

"Complete?"

Mako nodded.

Raleigh shifted over, closer to her. "I have missing pieces too. I think that's the point. Between us we're a whole person."

Comfortable silence.

"The Sensei rescued me, one last time." Mako sighed. "I've spent my life training myself to never need anyone, but... Ever since I was ten years old: The Orphanage, the Academy, every fight I ever picked in the Dome, my first Neural handshake, every time I ever tried liquor, my little trip down the rabbit hole in Gipsy Danger, setting off that nuke to cover our run... right down to making sure I connected to someone that could make me a real live person again once the war was over..." Soft tears rolled down her cheek. "He takes care of me, Raleigh. He always takes care of me." She sniffed. "I don't know if I can survive peacetime without him."

Their AfterDrift was strong, and Mako was suddenly filled with the urge to give herself a hug. And instant later, she knew where the impulse came from as he put his arms around her. It felt... extremely familiar. He'd never held her before, but she knew his arms as much as she knew her own.

It wasn't like getting a hug from family, or from a lover. It was her. She was giving herself comfort, because Raleigh experienced her need to receive it.

"Tenses are going to be confusing. He, She, I, You. Can't tell the difference any more." She mumbled into his shoulder.

He laughed. "Yancy said that Jaeger pilots were soul mates. He heard this story about how two souls can find each other, generation after generation. Sometimes as friends, sometimes and lovers, sometimes as family. He said that when these souls found each other, they became one spirit. He said that without each other, neither soul could be at peace."

Mako was delighted. "My father told me the same thing."

* * *

Sleep did not come easily to her. She hadn't gone back to her quarters. She slept in the On-Call room. So did Raleigh. He was two feet away and Mako was glad for it. They knew the Breach was closed. They didn't have a Jaeger anyway. But neither of them were ready to pick up their lives.

Mako relaxed into her mind, feeling at peace. But the more she thought about the future, the less peace she felt. She'd meshed her soul to Raleigh for a mission, and the Mission was already over.

Neither of them were sleeping. "What happens next, Mako?" Raleigh asked quietly.

"I don't know." She confessed, not at all surprised that he was thinking the same thing she was.

"My entire adult life I've either been fighting this war, or building The Wall. Both of those things are useless now. We've promoted ourselves into early retirement."

Mako nodded. "I know. And it's not like we can use the Jaegers for civilian use, given that we blew them all up." She choked a little just saying it. "I miss Gipsy Danger."

"Me too."

Silence.

Mako's tablet buzzed. Raleigh had already picked it up and was holding it out before she could wonder where it was. She checked the screen. "Hannibal Chau?" Mako said in surprise. "Thought he was dead."

"So if he's alive, is it good news?"

"Hard to tell." Mako got up. "This time of night, we can slip out?"

He was already reaching for his boots.

* * *

She took him to Tokyo City, and to the Boneslum. A restaurant that Stacker had taken her to, many times before. "You ever eat in a Boneslum before?"

Raleigh smirked. "Kaiju blubber? Close your eyes, you'd swear it was a New York hotdog, only bigger."

"Madison Square Garden, or the Bronx?"

They both turned to see Hannibal Chau coming in. His hair was plastered down, his suit was torn, and a hideous stick of ammonia was coming out of his pores, but he limped to their table, one shoe missing, and sat down. The cook looked over the counter to see him and started yelling something unintelligible. Chau gave him a long look that would have stripped paint, and he settled, giving the three their privacy.

"Yankee Stadium, mid-September, during the last World Series ever played." Chau groused to Raleigh. "Hot Dogs have been boiling since April, and the crowd is willing to shell out five bucks a pop for a bit of mustard to put on their snacks. You buy two tickets, one to watch the game, and one for a bodyguard to protect the large jar of mustard you've got in your pocket. Now  **that** was a hot dog."

"I heard you got yourself eaten yesterday." Mako commented.

"A little bit, but who's counting?" Chau smirked.

"No, really." Mako insisted. " **Eaten**. There were witnesses."

Chau sighed. "Fine. I got a little eaten. But I didn't get  _chewed_ , and that makes all the difference. Three of my guys were walking around inside the Mama-Kaiju carcass and didn't make it out, Baby-Kaiju had a big mouth. So I had a few seconds to find some oxygen tanks, and a few minutes to find my way to the lungs. Even Baby-Kaiju have lungs big enough to hold a grown man, and that gave me enough breath to carve my way out. With a switchblade. It took a while." He glared at her. "Know anybody else who can say that, Tokyo Girl?"

"Of course not." Mako nodded. You're the only human to survive getting gulped by Kaiju."

"And that bub that gulped me down was the only Kaiju that survived  _you_." Chau tipped his head. "I need to speak with Stacker."

"That's not really an option." Mako told him tightly.

Chau was caught off guard by that one. He gave Mako a steady look for a moment, and eventually nodded. "Well then. I can assume you and the Nerd are the only ones that knew about the specifics of our deal?"

Mako nodded.

Chau glanced over at Raleigh. "Who are you?" He quickly returned to Mako. "No, I don't care. Whoever's in charge now, I need to speak with them."

Raleigh spoke up for the first time. "Let me ask you something. Now that the war is over, and there are no more Kaiju coming, a significant number of people can start looking to legitimate sources of food and clothing and housing. If people do decide to take the Boneslum option, there's no longer a state of war, which makes scrounging up Kaiju-Products a much less dangerous option. Looting in a time of war is illegal. Scrounging in a time of recovery is not. It's a matter of weeks before the Powers That Be realize that. Is there any compelling reason why we shouldn't just shoot you right now and go home?"

Chau looked Raleigh up and down exactly once, and turned back to Mako. "I don't like him." He said tightly. "You can do better."

Mako smothered a smirk.

Chau made his pitch. "During the Second World War, a lot of people from criminal backgrounds worked as spies and informants for the Allies. When the war ended, these people were given full pardons for their pre-war crimes, in recognition of services rendered to freedom and liberty and all that good stuff."

"And now that  _our_  war is over, you need to go legit, because you know we won't protect you any more." Mako commented.

"I've stolen and cheated my way into enough money that I can finally consider myself an honest man." Chau smirked like a crocodile. "Your annoying friend here is correct. My standing in the world has dropped quite dramatically with the end of the war."

"We don't have any say in criminal prosecution." Mako pointed out.

"No, you don't. But the PPDC have been independent for a year now. If you were to name me as part of your team, I would-"

"Are you kidding me?" Mako and Raleigh blurted in perfect unison.

"What? Hannibal Chau, Private Citizen, head of a legitimate business, full partners with the heroes of the world. Plenty of personnel, plenty of money. Able and willing, ready to serve. Also-"

"Also, there are a number of third parties that would like to see you taken out and shot before you get given any kind of deal." Mako interrupted. "Are you coming to us for protection? Because we've sort of used up the last of our Jaegers."

"Yes, but you can build more." Chau pounced. "All the patents on Jaeger tech is owned by the PPDC. The UN didn't bother to demand that stuff back when they cut you loose, because they all expected us to be dead by now."

Mako and Raleigh traded a quick look.  _Is that true?_

_It might be._  Mako turned back to Chau. "What are you offering?"

"The Kaiju Market worked, because it offered something that nobody else could offer. There are hundreds of black marketeers out there dealing ration books and food and clothes and medicine. I was the only guy that could offer you Kaiju products. If you aim to keep the Dome open, and I aim to keep my profit margin, we both need something new to offer the world."

Mako and Raleigh looked back at each other again.  _We never planned what to do with the Dome. Or the people that work there. Or... any of it._

"You're telling me you never thought of this?" Chau demanded. "God, you soldiers. History has lessons, Tokyo Girl. War gets followed by economic depression. You spend all your money on a war, and then the war ends? What does a Steel Samurai do without a Kaiju?"

_These are all good questions._  Mako thought to Raleigh.

_Somebody should really have an answer for them._  He seemed to agree.

"Jaeger-Tech was all kept classified when you worked for the UN. Now that the war is over, and you're all in the Private Sector, what you do with it is up to you." Chau told them.

"We're not selling Jaegers." Raleigh interrupted. "The world is flat broke already, and if we start another arms race, and for all we know, another war..."

"Who said anything about another war? Think bigger." Chau told him. "The Apollo Missions put man on the moon, but that technology got its start as a German rocket fired at London during the Blitz. War advances technology, and at this moment, you've got all the blueprints, all the experts, all the patents on something entirely  _new_. You've got assembly lines that can build new components. Now, if only you had a long list of customers with deep pockets. To say nothing of warehouses, supplies, contacts, an infrastructure that could ship and protect such things in this world full of bandits and thieves. You guys have two options: Shift to a peace-time footing, or send your people out into the big cold world without a job, or a penny to their name."

"These are all good points, but I'm still waiting to hear why we need you for any of this." Raleigh said calmly.

Chau grinned at Mako. "Ask her, because she can tell." He rose. "Tell you what, I'll show up at the Dome in twenty four hours. Your guy at the front door can arrest me, or welcome me in. Your call."

"That's a pretty big bet to put on a coin toss."

Chau adjusted his collar, and swaggered out. "I've made my living by knowing which way the coins will come up. Be seeing you."

* * *

"I say we have him shot at the front door." Hansen said lightly. "But that's me."

One they had returned to the Dome, they woke Herc and briefed him. The meeting was a secret, with everyone else asleep after a long victory party. Mako was tapping away at her tablet quickly. "Turns out he was right about the Intellectual Property Rights. If we shut down this Dome, it all goes back to whoever researched it first."

"And all that was done by Government contracts." Herc nodded. "We upgraded a few dozen levels when the PPDC got its own research and development going. We had to evolve fast or die."

"So it's all a wash. We can market our tech, and turn the Dome into a civilian tech powerhouse, but they can research and develop it themselves from their own notes?" Mako sighed.

Silence.

"They're all broke; it'll take them a while to start a whole new industry. Not if we get there first. Corner the market." Raleigh said finally. "But to do it fast, we'd need customers, warehouses, a workforce... To say nothing of starting capital. We don't have any of those things."

"Hannibal Chau does." Mako said quietly, not looking at anyone.

Herc winced.

"Marshal, you're thinking something you're not saying."

"I was just thinking, about what Chau said about the Mafia working on the Allies side during the war. After WW2; the Allies captured the BMW factories. Until that point, they had made war planes. But when the war ended, they were told they couldn't make weapons any more. That's why they made cars, back before the Breach."

"Think they'll go back to making cars, now that the market for Jaegers has dropped to nothing?"

"I don't know." Herc sighed. "But Chau is right. We need to figure out what we're going to do with all the things we've learned here. What's the civilian application for a Jaeger?"

"Rescue, construction, demolition, deep sea diving... But we'll have to build one first." Raleigh listed. "Think smaller. What's the Civilian use of a Drift, or a Deep Sea Topographic map? Some of our spectral targeting sensors could give up real time satellite coverage of the whole world, or let us build telescopes that can study other galaxies."

Mako shivered. "I read somewhere that there are some religious groups that consider the Drift as a method of mind expansion. Getting closer to the Universe by expanding consciousness to share with other people."

Raleigh spoke next. "Guys, one way or another, someone's going to get control of all that stuff. It'll either be us, Chau... or the UN."

"Like Hell." Mako snarled. "They bled us dry and they threw scorn on us for having nothing else to give. And then they decided to save their own necks, left hundreds of millions to die, and gave us the blame." She hissed in a breath. "If they'd stuck with us, we would have had reinforcements for the Bomb Run."

Herc's face turned to stone. "They're not to blame for Chuck and Stacker, Mako."

"Maybe not, but they could have offered a lot more help than they did." Mako ground out. "You just  _know_  that the second they figure out what happened, they'll find some way to take the credit. They won't get the Dome too. I will personally burn it to the ground before I let them claim it."

Raleigh and Herc traded a look. "Chau said that if we wanted to know why we should involve him at all, we should ask Mako. Now I know what he meant."

Herc grinned. "So, we throw in with the Kingpin or the Suits? Interesting Choice."

Raleigh rubbed the back of his neck. "I read the report on how you put the Cult out of commission. There's a  _reason_ Chau wants to go legit. With the war over, there's going to be a lot of upheaval in the Black Market. He's picturing the next ten years as a turf war. A long and bloody one fought in streets full of hungry people trying to put their lives together. We don't want that either."

Herc rolled his head back, as though in pain. "Oh man, we're really going to do this, aren't we?"

"Assuming you were planning to stay." Raleigh offered. "I'm told most of the staff has been working for free the last few months; getting paid with a place to sleep and three square meals a day."

"I don't blame them for leaving, because with the War over, there's really no reason for them... or you, to stay." Mako said. "Is there?"

Herc winced. "You make it hard to say no to you, Mako."

Mako sighed. "Herc, you're the only one left. I mean, the Rangers pretty much run the support, and answer to Command. Command has been... well, KIA. You're the only Marshal left. Raleigh and I are the only two Rangers left. There's you, and then there's us, and then there's God. If you're that set against it, then it can't happen."

Raleigh gave Herc an earnest look. "He'll be here soon. What's it going to be?"

* * *

Hannibal Chau arrived at the Dome, precisely on schedule. The Desk Sargent checked his name against the clipboard he held, and signaled the guards. Half a dozen men in body armor came pouring out of the guard houses.

Chau froze. "Okay, they picked Door Number Two!"

A black bag went over his head, and a pair of handcuffs clicked around his wrists before he could run or reach his knife.

* * *

Chau groaned as the bag was pulled off his head. He expected to be in a jail cell, but instead, found himself in a nice, comfortable meeting room. Mako and Raleigh were both there, along with Herc Hansen, who sat much further along the table.

Chau let out a breath. "Oh thank God. For a second there, I was worried I'd been wrong about something."

"Just giving you an idea of how working for us is going to be." Raleigh grinned.

" _With_  you." Chau corrected.

" _For_  us." Mako emphasized. "If you think you can get a better deal somewhere else, say the word and we'll have you escorted out."

Herc raised a hand. "For the record, I was against letting you in the door at all. I told them to have you shot. I don't really know why I'm even in this meeting."

"Getting outvoted by eight year olds, that must be embarrassing." Chau needled him, turning to Mako. "So. Is there a consensus?"

"Not entirely." Herc told him gruffly. "But it seems you made some good points."

"So you're in?"

"Good or evil, the criminals of the world did more to save humanity than the politicians." Mako said simply. "You want to turn a profit? Fine. But there will be rules."

"When have I ever been a 'by the rules' kind of guy?" Chau taunted.

"Hey, who called who here?" Raleigh reminded him. "We don't mind making you rich, but if you wanna go legit, you have to go legit. Especially if you plan to use  _us_  to do it."

"So we've decided to give you a seat at the table, so long as it's understood: You don't take on any dirty deals, you don't break any more laws, or any more bones."

"I need to get you people a dictionary, because that's what going legit  _means_." Chau nodded. "Now here's my conditions: This is for my people. I got them through the war on the promise of not starving to death or getting killed by Cultists and Drifters. Now that the world is apparently going to keep turning, I need to offer them a retirement plan too. I'll put my organization on the table, but I'm bringing them with me."

"Which means we're responsible for how they act now. And the first one we're going to be keeping an eye on is you." Herc told him firmly. "They step out of line, we won't hesitate to turn them in."

"So we'd have to put someone with a pretty firm hand in charge." Raleigh put in. "This is only going to work if we pick the right person for CEO."

"Well, you could either let me market your considerable talents, or you could try doing it yourself." Chau taunted.

Mako shuddered. "A career fighting over percentages and shipping schedules, making deal with people all over the world, negotiating prices, sorting out international laws, and wrangling a bunch of suits?"

"A very special hell." Raleigh agreed.

Mako looked at Raleigh. Raleigh looked at Mako. Both of them looked at Herc with identical smiles.

Herc blanched. " _That's_  why you wanted me here?"

"Did we not mention that?" Mako asked innocently.

Herc shook his head. "No."

Raleigh and Mako just looked at him.

"I mean it, guys. Today was the first time I slept past 0500 in twenty years." Herc insisted. "I've only been retired for two days, but I'm really enjoying it so far."

Raleigh and Mako just looked at him.

"Mako, I was saving this really good bottle of champagne for the day we won the war. You know when I drank it? The day we didn't have to talk to the Suits,  _ever_  again!"

"It would really piss off Chau." Mako offered.

Silence.

"Yes. It would." Herc sighed. "Well, I guess I've been unemployed long enough."

Chau's smile had dropped completely, not expecting them to have someone picked so quickly. For a long moment, Herc Hansen and Hannibal Chau just stared at each other across a table.

"Well." Chau said finally. "You're just going to be a complete pain in my ass, aren't you?"

"Bring it on, Convict." Chau said right back, unconcerned.

"Just remember: Ten minutes ago, before I became an honest businessman, I would have cut your ears off just for being annoying."

"Well it's ten minutes later, and I'm your new boss."

Raleigh and Mako both stood up in perfect unison. "Well, seems this is something best explored between you two. Have a nice day." Mako said brightly.

Chau and Hansen hadn't stopped staring death rays at each other, even as the two heroes headed for the door.

"Parting gift?" Hannibal called after Mako with a leering grin.

"I'm listening." Mako said without looking at him.

"Amy West broke out." Chau told her. "My sources say that she's heading for one of the California shelters. The one closest to what used to be Bakersfield."

Mako felt her stomach drop. A moment later she was running.

She didn't have to look to know he was right with her. Raleigh had enough of her memory to know what was happening. "I hear that's been happening a lot. Law has broken down everywhere, and no cop wants to spare food for prisoners when they can't feed their kids."

"Yeah, but only one of those prisoners wanted the Kaiju to win, and knows me, and knows the PPDC, and knows exactly where to hit me so that it hurts." Mako told him. "We have to hurry. We may have helicopters, but West was a lot closer than we are." Mako skidded to a half in front of the elevator. "Listen, I need you to-"

"I'll get the helicopter warmed up, you get whatever it is you need." Raleigh said without hesitation.

Mako smirked. Having a partner that could practically read her mind was something new, and she found it more enjoyable than she ever thought.

* * *

The helicopter was pushing the limits of speed. Mako had tried to call ahead, and had been unable to reach anyone in Law Enforcement at any level. The ones that hadn't walked off the job had no support. Riots had looted and destroyed every police station.

Herc had a friend in the local Air Force, and Chau had the money. Raleigh had started out in the Air Force, as some of the earlier candidates did, and could fly a two seat fighter jet. Mako was glad for it. If she'd had to hitch a ride somewhere, she would have lost her mind. Having her partner six inches in front of her made the wait bearable.

Mako just had to hang on tight as they blitzed across the world, rushing to get to Moira Leighton before anyone else could.

* * *

They'd landed in the States, and had a rescue chopper waiting to take them directly to the street in Bakersfield.

"Are you sure she's still there?" Raleigh called over the sound of the rotors.

"Last I heard, she was." Mako shouted back. "She had a pretty good set-up, had protection from the neighbors... She could have held out in her home longer than most people could have held out in the shelters."

Raleigh was about to say something else, when his face froze. "Looks like you're right." He pointed to the ground.

Mako looked, and saw Moira's car. The same car she'd had years ago when Mako came to visit. It was pulverized against a tree, the wind-shield shattered, and both doors open...

And blood patterns, enough blood to be visible from the air, leaving trails that dragged away from the car, back toward the house.

Mako paled. "Get us down there! Right NOW!"

* * *

"Mama-Moira!" Mako all but howled. She came through the front door like a thunderbolt, and skidded to a halt...

Amy West lay on the living room floor, deathly pale. A large shard of glass was embedded in her upper chest, close to the throat, bound tightly with cloth to hold the shard still and minimize blood loss.

Moira had a black eye, and was sitting on the threadbare couch, with a very old bolt-action rifle across her knees. If she had anything to be nervous about, it didn't show. "Hello, Mako. It's been a while." She demurred, as though Mako had only been away for a moment.

Mako was still frozen in the doorway. "Are you all right?"

Moira gestured lightly at her eye. "I had an airbag. The passenger side was not so lucky." She tapped the rifle. "My daughter tells me that the rifle is in working order. Having a bolt action means I can only fire one shot at a time; so I actually have a few bullets saved for a rainy day." She patted her rifle. "In this street, that makes me a Mafia Don."

Raleigh laughed, having heard that from outside, and Mako stepped aside to let him in. The Ranger went straight to Amy West.

"I was worried that she'd attacked you..." Mako started to explain.

"Oh, she did." Moira said simply. "But your father was kind enough to keep me informed of anyone that may have learned of my daughters names from The Cult."

Mako looked down with a wince. "Because he knew it wasn't over yet."

Moira rose to her feet and came over to rest a hand on Mako's shoulder. "It was nice of you to come running to my rescue, dear."

"Amy's here because of me." Mako said softly. "I... I keep thinking that I'm doing something helpful, but all I've done for this family is put it in danger."

Moira gave Mako a long steady look. "Come upstairs."

Mako glanced at Raleigh, who calmly picked up the motionless Amy West. "I'll put her on the chopper, watch the door for a while."

Moira raised an eyebrow at Mako. "I don't know where he came from, but you seem to have him well trained."

"You have no idea." Mako drawled, following her up the stairs.

* * *

Petey was sleeping. And perched on the edge of his bed, mopping his brow...

"Tess." Mako breathed.

The young woman stiffened at the sound of her voice. "Mako." She said without turning around. "The Radio says there was an explosion at the Breach." She turned to face Mako at last. "They say it was Gipsy Danger."

Mako gasped when she saw Tess. The young woman was a good ten pounds underweight, had dark circles under her eyes... And those eyes were hard and cold. Much harder than Raleigh's were when he'd stepped off the chopper that day. The whole change made her looked fierce and angular. It had been five years, but she looked at least ten years older.

_Because of what I did, or is this just the standard uniform of life outside the Dome?_  Mako nodded, suddenly remembering herself. "It worked. The plan worked. The War is over."

"Over?" Moira repeated, not comprehending.

"Good." Tess said shortly, unsurprised; as though such things happened every day.

"Wait, what do you mean 'over'?" Moira demanded.

"The reports say that Striker Eureka launched too." Tess said coldly. "Chuck and his father are dead." Again, this was said with brutal detachment, as though she was watching it all happen on television.

Mako cleared her throat. "Um... Chuck's father was wounded protecting Tokyo City. Chuck had to make the run with a different partner."

"Wait, can we go back for a second? What do you mean 'over'?" Moira tried to get Mako's attention.

"Who did he get?" Tess asked, ignoring her mother.

Mako fought to keep her face even. "Marshal Pentecost."

Tess' eyes focused on Mako suddenly, and she came to her feet. "The Old Man?"

"Your father?" Moira said with jaded awe.

Mako never took her eyes off Tess. She and Moira were so... cool. They were detached from such horrible things.  _Is that just their nature, or is that how people survive the end of the world?_

Tess softened a little, rubbing her eyes. "Funny. I never really pictured The Old Man as being... well..."

"Mortal?" Mako guessed ruefully. "I know what you mean."

Petey woke up coughing, and Mako came over. "Hey."

The boy focused on her with difficulty. "Mako." He coughed pathetically. "You came back."

Mako nodded.

"How's Max?"

"Still thinks with his stomach, and has no dignity." Mako smiled.

Petey coughed again. "I'm sick."

Mako nodded again, and glanced at his mother. "The helicopter had a medic pack. There'd be some antibiotics that mi-"

"Go!" Moira and Tess said instantly, and Mako swiftly realized how desperate things were getting.

Mako hurried down the stairs, and almost walked into Raleigh coming in, with the Medkit in his hands. "I... I figured you'd need..."

Mako smiled. She'd seen Stacker and Tasmin anticipate each other this way. She led him upstairs and handed the kit to Moira quickly. She gave them both a grateful nod and gave Petey the shot.

There was nothing to say for a long time, the four of them just looking at each other.

"Raleigh Becket." Petey coughed. "Gipsy Danger."

"You a fan?"

"You should see his collection." Mako told Raleigh with a note of pride. "Petey, if you thought Raleigh was big news seven years ago, wait until you see tomorrow's news."

"Everything you wanted." Tess drawled, with no particular anger.

"I never wanted to be a hero, Tess." Mako sighed. "I just wanted to kill Kaiju. An obsession that hurt too much and too many." She looked at Moira. "I... I was pretty well wrecked for a long time, and I'm ashamed to admit that I never told you how sorry I was, for what I did to you and your family."

Long silence. Petey coughed a little.

"I wanted to forgive you so badly." Moira whispered.

"So did I." Tess admitted, her voice faraway. "I was so close with Jess." She jerked a thumb over at Raleigh. "You've done it. You know what it's like."

"I do." Raleigh nodded gently.

Tess turned back to Mako. "Imagine if Raleigh was gone. Just... carved out of your soul and  _gone_."

Mako felt a thrill or mortal horror go through her from the thought alone. "I think it'd be like someone yanking my skeleton out."

Tess nodded compulsively. "That's exactly what it was. Just a big pile of skin that looked like me, and nothing keeping it upright. I was screaming in my own head and there was nobody answering me."

Raleigh spoke finally. "It gets easier."

Tess looked at her. "It does. Too slowly."

"Way too slowly." Raleigh agreed.

Jess came closer to Raleigh, until she was almost nose to nose with him. She looked deep into his eyes, searching for something. Raleigh didn't pull back, didn't break the gaze, didn't even blink. He just let Tess look until she found what she was looking for.

"I know why you avoided Mako." Raleigh whispered to her. "It's not because you hate her. It's because all that's left of Jess is in her head, and not yours."

Tess nodded. "I was so jealous I couldn't breathe." She confessed.

Long silence.

"Tess, let's talk for a while." Raleigh offered. "One survivor to another."

Tess came to her feet, seemingly exhausted again. "I'd like that."

* * *

Another hour passed. Tess and Raleigh were talking downstairs, though neither of them could what was being said.

"Who protects you now?" Mako demanded, more to change the subject than anything else. "I couldn't reach any level of Law Enforcement. It's been over an hour since we put West on the Chopper, a full day since the crash..."

"Oh, I haven't seen a police officer in weeks." Moira waved that off. "We've got a militia, like a neighborhood watch. They look after the street, but they'll clean you out if you ask them for anything. I took care of the problem myself and it didn't cost me a thing." She sighed. "Besides, most everyone in the suburb has run for it. They're walking the highways on foot in crowds, looking for safety inland."

Mako nodded. "I heard about that. We've got a whole lot of clean-up left to do. To be honest, I think I preferred the Kaiju. At least with them, I knew how to win."

"The duration's always a lot longer than the war." Moira sighed. "Mako... There was a guy across the street. I never knew his name. He'd been married for fifteen years, and he'd had a steady mistress for five. When Trespasser came, he walked out of the house and never came back."

Mako nodded to show she was listening.

"He didn't love his wife any more, but he spent five years doing what was expected of him. When the world starts flying apart and cities start getting knocked down, you get a pretty good handle on what's  _really_  important to you. He decided he didn't need to play games any more. You know what I decided was the priority?"

"Family." Mako said quietly.

Moira nodded. "I lost my husband and brother in the first few days, and then I wasn't a wife or a sister any more. When you decide that the family is the one thing you absolutely have to save, and then you lose a third of it in the first week... And then my girls told me they were going to volunteer."

"And then I came along you didn't have three kids any more." Mako whispered, shamed.

"Well... I've had a few years to think that over." Moira admitted. "If the girls had both survived, if they'd made it through the Academy... Last week, there were four Jaegers left in the world. Now there are none. If my girls had made it, they'd  _both_  be dead right now, wouldn't they?"

Mako bit her lip. "No way to be sure... But yes; very likely."

"Tess is... better. Better than she was, when she first came home. If the war is over... I can't be mad at you, Mako. It feels wrong to stay mad at you after you saved the world  _and_  lost your father. It feels like you should get a pass."

Mako sniffed. "That's nice of you, but I don't know if I can... I haven't..."

"Haven't forgiven yourself?" Moira commented. "Well, I haven't exactly gotten over it. I don't suppose either of us ever will. But I have two kids, and they never would have survived the month if The Breach stayed open. I knew you before Jess died, Mako. If that day changed everything... I think that yesterday should be able to change things too, don't you?"

Beat.

Mako stepped forward swiftly and hugged her tightly. Moira returned the hug after a moment, eyes filling with unshed tears.

* * *

The helicopter returned an hour later. Raleigh went out and had a pointed conference with the pilot.

Mako came to the front door, waiting for him to come back. It was strange, but she just felt better, knowing where he was. Tess came out and joined her. "So." She sighed. "Raleigh seems nice."

"He is." Mako said quietly to her. "We didn't bring radios. If the pilot came back personally, he's either got news, or new orders from Locent."

Tess nodded.

Deathly silence.

Mako finally looked at her. "I don't know how to ease into it either."

Tess almost smirked. "We were such... children, weren't we? Playing with things we barely understood."

Mako nodded.

"For a long time, I wanted to be so mad at you, but I just didn't have the strength. I couldn't keep a thought in my head after it happened." Tess sighed. "But that was a long time ago. An eternity for me. The Drift is a weapon. A weapon created to kill Kaiju. If a little kid finds his dad's gun, you don't hate the kid for it. We were babies, using the Drift like a toy."

Mako nodded.

Tess sighed. "Good. I don't ever want to talk about this again."

"Me neither." Mako agreed. "I needed...  _Jess_  needed this at first. But I think she'd want you to have it back now." She reached into her bag, and pulled out a familiar hairbrush.

Tess took the brush. Mako was expecting her to cry, but she didn't. Whatever Raleigh had said to her had helped. Her expression had become something similar to what Mako had first seen in her new partner. The focus, like everything else was stripped away. Everything stripped away had died with Jess. What was left was hard and fierce.

Raleigh came back from the helicopter. "Amy's going to live." He told them. "The shard didn't actually put her down for the full day. That was the trauma from being tossed out the windshield. The glass missed all the major arteries."

"Good." Mako sighed. "The War is over, and I'd hate for the last casualty to be at Mama-Moira's hands."

"Amen to that." Tess nodded.

"Our pilot says he'll make sure Petey gets a doctor." Raleigh turned to Mako. "And the UN has apparently sorted out their crap. The Powers That Be are going to make it official soon. They'll be releasing a statement, telling the world that they were rooting for us the whole time, and that we did exactly what our handsome, brilliant leaders told us to do."

"Truly, a tribute to their inspired leadership." Tess drawled.

Mako let out a sound of pure disgust.

"A few of the 'Suits' are trying to get us to make public appearances with them." Raleigh nodded.

"Tell them that they can go and-"

"Oh no, you don't." Tess retorted. "You take every single request for a personal appearance that every single politician makes, and then when all the cameras are pointed at you, you tell the world exactly what he or she did when the chips were down. The ones that tried to keep the Dome alive? They'll be grateful when you tell the world. The ones that tried to let the Dome starve? They'll learn real fast what happens when they try to take advantage."

Mako and Raleigh traded a look, liking this idea. Mako gave Tess a warm look. "I've missed you so much."

Tess gave a dark chuckle. "You saved the world, Mako Mori. Whatever else happened, you and Captain Awesome here did it. And now, the prize: a life of posing for photos, and doing interviews and getting merchandising deals, and approving guest lists for state dinners, and shaking hands with politicians."

Mako shuddered. Raleigh winced painfully.

For the first time, Tess smiled. "And you were worried I'd hold a grudge." She gave Mako a crisp salute. "Go home, be famous, and when they make movies about you, make sure you get someone good to play me."

Mako smirked, feeling at peace with this family for the first time in a long time.

* * *

News had broken that The War was over. But it took a while to spread. The entire Pacific Rim was on the move, fleeing inland. It took a while for confirmation to reach the whole human race.

The celebration came in waves, timezone by timezone, one population center after another, as the lines of communication spread the word that humanity was alone on the earth again. The first shipments went across the Pacific, safe for the first time in decades. The first cargo ships were loaded with nothing but party supplies; food going one way, fireworks and decorations going the other. Once the supplies reached their destinations, the party began in earnest.

There was little civic structure left, and nobody had a job to be mindful of. The world was letting loose, not even pretending to worry about things for a few days.

The UN had lavishly praised the heroes of the PPDC. Ten minutes later, they demanded all the technology and research that years of war had given the PPDC. They also demanded the return of all PPDC resources to UN Command.

Mako took pleasure in the way Chau and Hansen swiftly shut them down.

The two heroes did make a few public appearances at the request of various world leaders, and told the world which of their leaders had been helpful during the war, and which had been quick to save their own necks. After that, the requests for their personal attention dried up quickly. Half the world's leaders had been on the verge of outright War Profiteering, and now that the war was over, justice was swift and cold.

The politics started immediately. Once the politicians found out the heroes wouldn't help, their opponents tried to get them on side to attack. What was left of the Dome staff closed ranks around their own, and life went on. There was nobody who could gain anything from the two heroes, and nobody dared speak a word against the final two pilots that had saved the world.

A few snap recall elections were called, as the world went from a Wartime to a Recovery. Most of the politicians involved focused on covering themselves and their interests; but the world had spent most of the war taking care of themselves without any support from anyone, and weren't so quick to swear loyalty to people that had abandoned them.

After the PR challengers came the legal ones. Various legal teams made an effort to shut down the PPDC completely, now that the job was done. The rest tried to demand the return of all Drift Technology. Chau's people were experts in getting through legal loopholes, and Herc had leaked the story to a few reporters soon after.

For the first few weeks after the Battle of the Breach, Mako and Raleigh were bulletproof. Nobody could speak a word against them, and eventually, their enemies turned their attention to the more immediate problems of trying to rebuild a world that had fallen into near-total anarchy.

True to his word, Chau had marketed the skills and technology of the Dome and the PPDC personnel to a world that was in desperate need of innovation and technical skill. Hansen made sure Chau didn't gouge or threaten, and the Dome actually became a fairly prominent financial power. Enough for them to start rebuilding too.

Once the meetings and endless briefings were done, the time had come for the credit, and the blame to be passed around.

Mako and Raleigh had no patience for that, and the Dome Staff covered for them as they ducked out.

* * *

Mako found a hiding place downstairs at the Memorial. It was identical to the one she had visited in Alaska. Someone had added Stacker and Herc.

After a while, Raleigh joined her, with a backpack over one shoulder.

"There you are." Mako breathed out. "I swear, I get more than forty feet from you, and I start to get the shakes."

"I'm the same way. Don't worry, the AfterDrift will settle eventually." He promised her. "Though I'm not completely sure I want it to."

She looked at his pack. "You're leaving?" She wavered. "Where'd you have in mind? We could go bush and come back to civilization when they've forgotten all about us. I hear Chau has a bunker that would be perfect for for getting away from crowds, and anything else."

"Tempting." Raleigh reached out and stroked his fingers over the carved letters of his brother's name. "They left a space for me." He commented lightly.

Mako gave him a long suffering grin. "Wonder where they'll carve our names, now that we're apparently going to live out the rest of our lives?"

"They won't take the Jaegers away." He said with certainty. "The Kaiju made the whole human race work on the same side for the first time in... ever. Then the thirty guys in charge threw the whole point of peace and cooperation away. For money. They're getting raked over the coals, and if we're very lucky, getting booted out of office right now. The goodwill of the world will buy Chau's business model another six months, until they're sure the Breach won't reopen spontaneously."

"And once that happens, you'll be a world hero." Mako nodded.

"Me, but not you?"

"The world's already got a lock on you. You and your brother were superstars seven years ago, and you were the one that hit the button and blew the Breach to hell."

"Don't think you'll get off that easily." He shot back. "You were there too."

"Not on the other side." Mako said, with the same hushed tone that the brain trust had. "And, by the way, don't think I'm okay with that. I thought being in the Drift meant we face the end as a team."

"I wish I could say it was because I wanted to deny Harker's prophecy." He shook his head. "But the fact is, I've lost a partner Mid-Drift before. I wouldn't wish that on you, and if I waited until the far side, I had no idea what would happen. I pulled the plug before it went that far."

"Which is what Pentecost would have done." She bit out. "And you know the only reason he let me into a Jaeger-"

"-was because I'd take care of you as much as he would." Raleigh nodded. "That doesn't bother you? You don't strike me as the type who wants people to look after you."

"You're not 'people'." She shot back. "You're me. And you're Stacker, too. And you are your brother."

Raleigh smiled. "As a matter of fact, that's more true than you know." He held up his bag. "I have a present for you."

Mako smiled. "Chocolate?"

"Fraid not."

"Not bourbon, is it?" Mako winced. "I have the worst luck when I'm drinking."

"And a glass stomach too, from what I saw." He pulled some large computer drives out of the bag. "The Drift buffers from Gipsy Danger, Striker Eureka and Coyote Tango."

Her jaw dropped. "How?"

"Coyote Tango's pieces were all in storage. Chau realized the potential profit in auctioning actual bits of shrapnel from the Last Jaegers. He had have a dozen submersibles and they've been all over the ocean floor for days. We both know that there are secondary Buffers stored in the Lifepods."

Mako nodded. "Yeah, it was meant as a backup for the pilots in case they had to eject before leaving the Drift." She bared her teeth a little. "We never got a chance to test that idea. Kaiju don't generally give much chance to eject."

"Right. And we both know that the lifepods and the data recorders were the only pieces of the structure designed to withstand the loss of the Jaeger, plus a mile of sea water. So when I ejected you, the Data recorder went too. Looks like your old man got lucky. A lot of bits were floating off Striker Eureka before they detonated. The lifepods included."

"I'm amazed they survived the blast."

"They didn't. The pods were completely wrecked, so were the connections, the hard drives, the components... But the buffers... They were tied into the Data Recorder, so they made it." He grinned. "Herc put Chau against a wall and 'negotiated' for them."

Her head tilted. "Why?"

"Pentecost said, that you would always find him in the Drift." Raleigh said kindly. "It wasn't until my first Drift with you that I knew. He wasn't just tossing out something comforting. He meant it. He had to pilot solo, when he took on Onibaba. He lost connection Mid-Drift too, Mako. He knew."

Mako stared at the two devices. "...oh." She said, hating herself for being hopeful. "Of course! Two minds, bridged through the Jaeger! So when one can't get the buffer cleared..."

"It stays on the drive." Raleigh nodded with a smile. "When I Drifted with you, we were in Gipsy Danger. That was Yancy's Jaeger as much as mine." He looked quietly thrilled. "I found him, Mako. That's why I broke pattern. I found him there."

Mako's eyes fixed on the other drive instantly. "Sensei?" She dropped back into Japanese without thinking. "We never Drifted together. Would he be waiting for me, too?"

"He seemed to think so." Raleigh reached back into his bag, and pulled out another drive. A much older one.

"What's that one?"

"The Pons that Newt cobbled together? He started with the UnderDrift's training one. But for a Kaiju brain he had to change up the buffer. There's the original drive that connected you to Jess. Geiszler gave me a list of instructions on how to include a few extra drives into a Pons; so that you could Drift through three or four buffers instead of one."

Mako's hands were shaking.

"Now..." Raleigh said, without a trace of the smile he was feeling on his face. "I'm not really an expert in Drift construction or anything... if only I was in somewhat telepathic sync with a girl who knew Jaegers inside out..."

Mako was up swiftly, the toolkit suddenly in her hand, though she had no memory of looking for it. He had given it to her without her even looking.

* * *

He'd never been in her room before, had no idea where she kept things, but he'd had everything she needed waiting for her with the speed of thought.

They worked like a machine, quick and deadly. They moved like one person with four hands. Muscle memory was perfect between them, even for things that only one of them had done.

Working with him in such perfect sync, Mako suddenly felt... immortal. She could handle anything., Peace, war, love hate, life, death... She had the absolute certainty that she would face all of it without worry. She had always been everything she had ever needed, but this was different. Now, she was needed by someone else just as much, and where that thought had once scared her half to death, now there was only a wonderful sense of the familiar about it.

That level of closeness had scared her, even enough to keep her apart from a future as a pilot. But after only a few days, she couldn't fathom life without him. She couldn't fathom the idea of him starting a sentence without her being able to finish it, or needing anything without him there to hand it to her.

The idea of the war ending had sent a thrill of horror through her every time she thought of it. But now she knew it was the best news she could ever hear. Raleigh would be safe now. Something no Jaeger Jockey could ever say about their copilot while the War was on.

With the war over, Mako had saved the world, avenged her family, killed the Kaiju and found her Soul Mate. It was hard to tell which part was making her happier.

Until finally, they were finished.

* * *

Raleigh held out the headset. "Ready?"

Mako nodded, completely focused. "Has anyone ever tried this before?"

"A Drift with four different buffers? Not that I know of."

Mako licked her lips. "The UnderDrift... People were swapping partners. Not combat-level Drifting, but you could tell, each of them had a piece of each other."

"It might work, it might download the Ghosts in the Machine to both of us... or it might not." Raleigh warned her. "If it doesn't, I have no idea what happens next."

"Neither do I. But I'm willing to risk it." Mako whispered. "If it does work... even if we find them, it won't really be them, will it? We've got the buffers from Coyote, Striker, Gipsy... But if Stacker and Tasmin and Chuck and Jess and Yancy are all in there... It's not like we can bring them back to life."

"No, I guess not." He nodded gravely. "But here's the thing... I have you in my head. And the you that's in my head is every bit as real as the woman standing next to me right now. The Buffer might only hold a memory, but it's a very complete memory. And if this does what we hope it will, we get to take them with us when we unplug."

"If this works, we should bring Tess and Herc in here." Mako whispered.

He suddenly found they were holding hands again, side by side, with the Pons between them. "I'm not about to let you go through it alone." He promised. "So. Time to chase some rabbits."

In perfect unison, they both hit the button, and fell into the Drift.

* * *

If anyone had come into Mako's Room that day, they would have found two heroes laying side by side, holding hands across a Pons that they'd made themselves. Their eyes were dancing back and forth under closed eyelids, like they were having the most intense dream that anyone had ever had.

If anyone had come into the On Call Room and stayed to watch, they would have seen the exact moment that Raleigh smiled broadly, the way he did when his brother would teach him something new and exciting.

If they had stayed to watch a little longer, they would have seen Mako's closed eyes let out a single tear of happiness as she spoke in her waking sleep. "Sensei."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's the ending. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. By the way, for people who say that Chau should be dead, watch to the end of the credits!
> 
> Read and Review!


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